Marine corporal tells tales of deployment

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John Kehoe, enjoys a light moment before starting the day's mission. Kehoe and his fellow Marines in the mobile section have worked day and night during the opening weeks of Operation Double Check, which started Jan. 3. SUBMITTED PHOTOS CREDITED TO Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde

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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:24AM

U.S. Marine Cpl. John Kehoe, a Joliet native assigned to Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment in Helmard province, Afghanistan, has served in the company’s mobile section since arriving in Afghanistan in late summer. He is part of the crew of Truck Four.

The Marines serve as mortar men by trade, having no experience working in a truck crew prior to the battalion’s pre-deployment training evolution. Kehoe served in the truck crew as the vehicle commander.

Armored trucks provide unique capabilities in a combat environment, and mobile sections are often among the most utilized assets for a line company during an Afghanistan deployment.

Missions tasked out to mobile sections can be highly variable, and flexibility is a must for its Marines, especially during formal operations. The high-stress, sometimes tedious life of a mobile Marine in Afghanistan takes some getting used to as personal comfort gives way to mission accomplishment.

“It’s definitely something that takes getting used to — sleeping in a seat, not being able to stretch out, being stuck in your gear for nine, 10 days at a time; eating nothing but (Meals, Ready to Eat), things like that,” said Kehoe, 23. “My Marines and I have grown comfortable to it. I enjoy sleeping in a truck over lying on the ground any day.”

Truck Four’s Marines, as with the rest of the mobile section, have been especially busy during recent weeks as Fox Company is participating in Operation Double Check, during which the company is responsible for disrupting enemy forces on the southeastern side of the Musa Qal’eh wadi, or riverbed, in northern Helmand province.

The mobile section was tasked to provide security for combat engineers as they constructed elevated posts to be used by Afghan Uniformed Police personnel in southern Musa Qal’eh district. The Marines also conducted logistical missions for the company during the opening days of the operation and served as a quick reaction force if needed, among other things.

“Every day varied,” said Kehoe, a 2006 graduate of Minooka Community High School in Minooka. “Some days we were just holding a blocking position, holding in place until we were ready to push forward. On another day we did a foot patrol to resupply the snipers and foot patrols throughout the villages just to keep a presence. A few days we had to ride back to PB 7171 to get logistical resupplies and other things the company needed to sustain for the mission and keep the ball moving forward.”

Kehoe takes pride in his crew’s and section’s performances in the beginning stages of Operation Double Check and expects continued success for the future.

“So far it has been a success for our section,” Kehoe said. “Cpl. Dakin M. Jausel and Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Merritt have done an outstanding job — they’ve been great. The way we prepped (for the operation) with drills, rehearsals, all the things we did prior to stepping off on the mission really paid off.”

Volunteers of the year

Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Stephen G. Brown and eight-year Air Force veteran Susan M. Brown were named the 2011 Volunteers of the year for the city of Lockport.

Jean Edwards is looking forward to writing about local veterans in her Over There column. Contact her at 815-773-7172 or jedwards@stmedianetwork.com.