Sharing Our Stories Robert Cerra Bob went into the Marines right out of high school in July 1998. He was stationed his four-year tour at Camp Pendleton , Ca. He is a Mechanic working on LVSs, 5 tons, 7-ton trucks and Humvees. When his four years were up in July 2002, he came home to Pittsburgh, and started working for NS as a machinist at Conway Yard. In December 2003, he joined the Marine Reserves based out of Erie, Pa. Before he signed his Reserve papers, he knew that his unit would be activated in 2004. Bob is currently serving in Mahmudiyah, Iraq with the 2nd Battalion 24th Marines. Their command element is the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He is Platoon Sgt. and shop chief, in charge of 16 guys who repair more than 200 7-tons, Humvees and big equipment. On an average day the temperature reaches 95 degrees and higher. The Marines have to be in full uniform at all times when they are anywhere except their bunk. That means wearing Kevlar body armor, flak jacket, boots, long-sleeve camouflage shirts, carrying a pistol and an M-16 rifle. One day when they were traveling north toward Baghdad, they stopped at a very large base and this is what he wrote about it. "Today I got to see some bases that I hadn’t seen yet. These people have no idea how good they have it up here. There were people walking around in civilian clothes, running and jogging. They had some kind of dance the past two nights at the recreational building. It’s no wonder they want to extend their time over here. They have it better here than at home. It's like they have no idea that a war is going on. Maybe they are smarter than me and my guys. They sit back and collect the same check as I do and it’s like a 9-to-5 job for them. While we are down here at our base constantly getting shot at, mortared, working a minimum of 15 hours a day and missing chow to keep working. I like our way better. We are making a difference." Bob is the type of person who is committed 100% to his job- whether it is at Norfolk Southern or with the United States Marines. His deployment is scheduled to last until the spring 2005. |
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