3/8 deploys to Afghanistan

As the last 250 Marines and sailors of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment stood in a parking lot at Camp Lejeune, waiting to deploy to Afghanistan with the rest of the unit, lance corporals Timothy Brown, Jesse Young and Peter Reed stood among a pile of sea bags and rucksacks.

Brown smoked a cigarette, while Young ate a muffin. Reed said his emotional state was "right between really excited and nervous."

Like many other Marines, the three men said they are glad they are deploying to Afghanistan, instead of Iraq.

"There's a lot more going on over there," Brown said.

"I'm not good with hot weather," Reed said, plus other Marines have told him there's not much going on in Iraq.

And while he will miss "women ... and being able to go out without worrying about anything," Reed said he is happy to be able to see a new place and possibly see some combat.

"Looking forward to getting into a firefight," he said.

The Marines with 3/8 will serve as the ground combat element of a specially created Marine Air-Ground Task Force, composed of units from throughout the Marine Corps to replace the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in southern Afghanistan.

The Marines will continue that mission, getting the Afghan people engaged in their government and the security of their country, said Maj. Brian Mulvihill, the executive officer of 3/8. They will use a model similar to the one used by the Marine Corps in western Iraq.

The unit was completing training in California when the Marines learned they would deploy to Afghanistan, not Iraq. Young said some Marines extended their contracts so they could go to Afghanistan.

While Afghanistan will be "a change of pace" for Staff Sgt. Michael Baggett, he looks at it as "just another deployment," he said.

"Marines are trained to do a certain job. It doesn't really matter where they go," he said, as he stood with his wife and two children.

Pfc. Dan Brown said he was "a little scared" and nervous about the deployment.

"I wasn't too stressed out about going to Iraq, but with Afghanistan, it raised the bar a little bit," he said.

Cpl. Matt Crane said he was just ready to go and get it over with - then get back to his wife, who will give birth to a child while he is away.

"I signed up to do it," he said of the deployment. "We're Marines, that's what we're supposed to do."

Sgt. Thomas Butterick said he is thrilled to get to go Afghanistan.

"I (had) requested the first unit to deploy to Afghanistan," he said, but was placed with 3/8 when they were still supposed to go to Iraq.

"I was ecstatic when (I found out) we were going to Afghanistan. That's where the fight's going to be."

Butterick said he plans to get out of the Marine Corps when he returns, but he wanted to get a deployment in before then.

"It is important to me that I actually get to go out and do something," he said.

Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8467.