The September 11th attack | America strikes back
32 Marines eagerly re-enlist

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

Mortar man Sgt. Trevor Wargo, anti-tank assault man Sgt. Jeromie Slaughter and infantryman Lance Cpl. Ruperto Quiroz re-enlisted in the Marines here last week, knowing they may soon be fighting a cruel foe in a faraway land called Afghanistan.

Sgt. Trevor S. Wargo takes sons Caleb, 3, left, and Joshua, 1, over to meet his fellow Marines, who re-enlisted together at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i at Kane'ohe Bay. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

But they and many of the 29 other Marines, who "re-upped" together in a special ceremony at sprawling Marine Corps Base Hawai'i on Kane'ohe Bay, aren't being swept away by patriotic rage.

They, and many like them, had made their decisions to re-enlist weeks, months, even years ago.

They did so for fairly ordinary reasons — loyalty to a corps that cares about its members and their families, a good career move, and concern about few jobs on the outside.

But they didn't waver a bit after Sept. 11, when it became clear they soon could be in a shooting war.

So, Col. Joseph Medina, commander of the 3rd Marine Regiment, said it was good to see so many from one of his battalions re-enlisting in a single day.

"I think a lot of it has to do with their sense of patriotism," Medina said. "Marines are always semper fidelis, always faithful, but it's unusual to see that many all in one day, all at one time.

"They feel the Marine Corps needs them, and we really do.

"It says a lot for the state of the Marine Corps nowadays, the state of the armed forces in general (and) about the morale of the unit. It shows the Marines are behind their leadership, and they feel what their commander in chief wants us to do is probably the right thing.

"And there is the feeling that what we are doing is needed and appreciated in the country."

Lt. Col. Robert Castellvi, commander of the 2nd Battalion, said the 32 were "just a fraction of the Marines in our battalion that have made the decision to re-enlist."

They re-enlisted together as part of a "brotherhood," Castellvi said, knowing that "these are the Marines that they are going to need to count on in the many trying times that we are going to have to come."

Wargo said he decided to re-enlist the day he first enlisted from Florida, almost four years ago, and that he chose to join and stay in the Marines because "they care about everything — it's like a big family and if I go somewhere I know my family will always be taken care of."

It wasn't quite so automatic for Wargo's wife, Janie, after Sept. 11.

"It's very frightening," Janie Wargo said. "But it's their job, and I know they'll do their job extremely well. It's what they are trained to do, and I know our boys are ready."

It wouldn't be courage if there wasn't some fear, Janie Wargo said. "Courage, honor and commitment — that's what the Marine Corps is about. It goes for the wives, too."

Wargo isn't blind to the reality. "I worry about my family," he said, his son Joshua, 1, almost lost in his massive arms, and Caleb, 3, at his side. "But, you know, I have a very strong woman, and I know she'd be able to take care of everything.

"And I knew what I signed up for, and my wife knew when I got married that I was a Marine, and this day might come.

Wargo paused. "I know my family would understand."

Slaughter, who hails from Texas, said he made his re-enlistment decision "a few months ago," because "it's a career."

And if the Sept. 11 attack draws him onto a battlefield?

"That's part of the job."

Slaughter's wife, Cara, holding their eight-month-old son, Gage, said it wasn't as easy for her, but that she understood and agreed.

Quiroz, 24, said he decided to re-enlist last year because "where else can you join something for four years at a time and get the free medical, dental and housing?"

Deployment for seven months at a time is a downside, Quiroz said, and he agreed that there may be a much deeper downside ahead.

"Especially with our unit, being an infantry unit, we never know. I'm not saying things are happening," he said, "but in case things are happening, we are an infantry unit and we may have to take care of it."

Did he have any second thoughts after Sept. 11?

"I joined to do this, to do exactly that if I had to," he said. "There was no question about it. That's my job, and that's what I signed up to do."

It's in the blood: At home in San Antonio, Texas, Quiroz has two uncles and an aunt who are Marines, and an uncle who was in the Army.

He says his wife, Jaunette, who calls Kailua home, "knows that's what I have to do, and she stands behind me 100 percent."

Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com.