Commitment Infantry soldier Sgt. Jim Rajvong was all set to become a drill instructor at the San Diego Marine Corps recruit depot when terrorists hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11.
stays strong for
Marines
32 attend a ceremony for
re-enlistment, the largest number
since the Gulf War in 1991By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com"It's unsettling," said the 30-year-old first-term enlistee. "The anxiety level went up a little. We're prepared and waiting for orders from the commander-in-chief.
"After this happened I wanted to stay in the infantry."
But after talking it over with Darcy, his wife of 18 months, Rajvong decided to keep his commitment to be a drill instructor for the next three years.
"He wanted to go," said Darcy Rajvong. "If he was called to go, I would understand. It would be the honorable thing to do."
"My job now is to prepare the next wave of Marines," the drill sergeant added.Yesterday, Sgt. Rajvong was among 15 Marine Corps sergeants, 16 corporals and one lance corporal who participated in the largest re-enlistment ceremony at Kaneohe Bay since the Gulf War a decade ago.
At yesterday's ceremony, there were supposed to be 40 Marines who had completed their first three-year term in the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment who would re-enlist, binding them over for another four years. Gunnery Sgt. Eric Bartolome, the battalion's career planner, said duties prevented eight of them from participating in the ceremony.
"We never had a re-enlistment of this magnitude before," said Bartolome, who has been at Marine Corps Base Hawaii for nearly 10 years.
He said many of the Marines had decided to re-enlist before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "But there were two or three Marines who made a quick judgment because of the current situation."
Col. Joseph Medina, 3rd Marine Regiment commander, said the decision by so many Marines "says a lot about the morale of this unit.
"It shows that the Marines are behind its leadership."The decision to stay in uniform took place before the Pentagon this week began implementing its stop-loss program, which prevents service members from leaving after their enlistment is over. The last time stop-loss was used was during Operation Allied Force over Kosovo two years ago.
The Pentagon's stop-loss program allows the military services to retain individuals on active duty beyond their date of separation. Those affected by the order generally cannot retire or leave the service as long as reserves are called to active duty or until relieved by the president, whichever is earlier. Stop-loss also freezes the status of reservists who cannot move to an inactive status.
The Navy plans to implement a limited stop-loss program affecting 10,500 people in 11 critical skills. The Army has no immediate plans to implement it, while the Air Force's stop-loss policy will last for a month.
