Military Vote: Marines on the Eve of Election and Battle

NEAR FALLUJAH, IRAQ -- Although many Marines here profess a deep interest in the outcome of the U.S. presidential race, most don't have time to pay close attention. A squad from Weapons Company assembles their 81-millimeter mortar tubes while the heavy "whoomp" retorts of a .50-caliber sniper rifle pulsate across the firing range 1,000 meters away. On the eve of the U.S. election, these Marines are busy preparing for perhaps the fiercest battle they may experience in Iraq: the fight for Fallujah.

Although many Marines here profess a deep interest in the outcome of the U.S. presidential race, most don't have time to pay close attention. A squad from Weapons Company assembles their 81-millimeter mortar tubes while the heavy "whoomp" retorts of a .50-caliber sniper rifle pulsate across the firing range 1,000 meters away. On the eve of the U.S. election, these Marines are busy preparing for perhaps the fiercest battle they may experience in

Iraq: the fight for Fallujah.

The idea of quelling the symbolic heart of the insurgency before Iraq's January elections has become somewhat of an obsession, both for the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and the Bush administration.

The question that has echoed nearly as loudly as weapons fire here is, "When will the offensive begin?" The smart-money answer, though still not specific, has always been "after the U.S. presidential election" because the race is too tight and the risk too great for

President Bush to begin an attack which, with heavy collateral damage, could be bad PR regardless of the outcome.

Battalion commander for the 3.1 Marines, Lt. Col. Willy Buhl, says the Marines have been ready for some time.

"Plans have been ongoing since April and Regimental Combat Team 1 has been ready on our division commander's order to enter Fallujah as required. I could tell you that within 48 hours we're prepared to do that at any time really. We have been."

With four months experience on the frontlines of Fallujah, Buhl's "Thundering Third" could be the proverbial "tip of the spear" in any Fallujah offensive. It is a job many here say they're eager to begin, especially after so much time fighting a phantom enemy that prefers to take its toll invisibly with roadside bombs.

Regardless of who is elected commander in chief on Tuesday, the Marines know President Bush, at the request of Prime Minister Allawi, will be the one to green light the U.S. military on Fallujah if it is to be taken by force.

However, there are concerns about how a new administration might impact the use of the military here in the future.

Navy Corpsman Santos Gonzalez, 22, of Pontiac, Mich., is a line medic for India Company. He says he voted absentee for Bush. "If Kerry is elected all the hard work we've done here all the [people] who were injured and killed it will be pointless," says Santos. "He says he won't pull us out but eventually he'll be pressured. President Bush is more strong headed. We need someone like that."

Staff Sgt. Jason Spangenberg also voted for Bush and says he is an active Republican Party member, but he says both candidates' positions are very similar when it comes to the military and Iraq.

"Kerry's not a bad man," says the 29 year old with Headquarters and Services Company, "and it wouldn't be a disaster if he were elected. In fact, it probably wouldn't change what we're doing here in Iraq at all."

(Sgt. Ian Moore / Image: Kevin Sites)

"I've always voted Democratic. But whoever wins I think will do the right thing," says Sgt. Luis Alejandro, 29, of Fresno, Calif., "Whichever way, we'll still be here for 'OIF' (Operation Iraqi Freedom) 8, 9, 10 until we fix it."

The military usually takes an active role in helping soldiers and Marines exercise their civic responsibilities when it comes to voting, providing non-partisan classes on the candidates and assistance in requesting absentee ballots for those deployed overseas. But because of problems in getting mail to frontline units combined with slow response from service members' home states there are still some serious snafus.

Cpl. Elton King, 25, of Battle Creek, Mich., requested an absentee ballot two months ago. It arrived three days ago two weeks past the final deadline for mail-in ballots.

"I'm very upset about it. This would've been my first year voting," says King. "I would've voted for Kerry. I'm a die-hard Democrat and I don't like Bush. In the four years he's been in, nothing he's promised has come happened."

Twenty-year-old Private 1st Class Kyle Hammons of Austin, Texas, received third-degree burns on his hand after his convoy hit a roadside bomb. He believes President Bush should continue the job of commander in chief.

"I think people back in the U.S. are getting fed up with the war with all the casualties, and want us to pull out. But I agree with President Bush we need to stay," says Hammons. "It sucks while you're here, but when you get home you can feel proud about what you did."

Battalion Maintenance Chief Sgt. Ian Moore, 32, of Scottdale, Ga., has a keen verbal dexterity and a pol's instinct for saying something well without giving away too much.

"Socio-economically and ethnically I tend to fall more in line with the Democratic Party, but I still have to decide what's best overall."

He says he voted for Kerry but fully understands his obligations to the current president.

"I'm also an active-duty Marine in a war zone. I'll go when and where my commander in chief tells me."

Moore says that he doesn't believe the Marines fit the stereotype of the conservative military but that they do tend to think alike in some ways.

"I think Marines are very mixed politically," says Moore, "but there is a certain 'Marine-think,' meaning we're very mission oriented. We want to get the job done."

And that applies, he says, whether on the eve of an election, in battle or both.

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