Marine unit deals with corps' Iraq dead
Though a team that retrieves and processes remains is glad to have much less to do these days, its members work to stay ready.
CAMP TAQADDUM, IRAQ — Of all the duties a Marine can have in Iraq, the one that is undoubtedly least sought after is now also becoming one of the least needed.
Personnel Retrieval and Processing, a unit that makes its home in a large earth-sheathed hangar on this air base in the desert of western Iraq, has had only about one mission per month this year.
The endless days of idleness are considered ideal by members of this reserve Marine Corps unit from Georgia.
Fallen Marines: An article in Wednesday's Section A about a Marine unit that returns the remains of Marines who die in Iraq to the United States misstated the unit's mission. It said the unit organizes and cleans the remains. In fact, its goal is to return the remains expeditiously in the condition in which they were recovered to preserve forensic evidence.
"I enjoy the slow times," said Sgt. Christopher Crowder-Barnes of Marietta, Ga. "I enjoy it because it means nobody's dying."
The PRP is the unit that prepares the remains of dead Marines for the journey home. It is one of three PRPs in Anbar province and part of Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Remains are usually brought to the base for processing. The goal is to place them on an airplane, draped in an American flag, as quickly as possible for return to their families, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bo Causey, who heads the unit.
The hardest missions involve multiple, or especially grim, casualties. In such cases, a team goes into the field to conduct the recovery.
Across Anbar, American military deaths have dropped to about three per month this year, compared with a rate of nearly one per day throughout 2006 and in the first half of last year, according to the independent website icasualties.org.
This year all three Anbar units combined have had only four field retrievals, Causey said.
Despite the decline, the psychic strain of being constantly prepared never diminishes.
Like firemen, the 14 men who work here keep themselves ready to be called at any hour. They work out, study and read during their idle hours. They also practice processing. They stick close together, generally not associating much outside their own circle.
And they consciously watch one another for signs of distress.
"Everybody has their own personal breaking point," Causey said. "So we all make an effort to get in touch with what we are all thinking. We pay close attention to everyone's routines, what they say, their attitudes. If something changes, we try to jump on it."
Causey and other senior officers live in the hangar, inherited from Saddam Hussein's air force. The accommodations are spartan. Besides their bunks, there is a weight room.
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