Resentment Splits Gulf Vets, Rear Echelon : Marines: Those left behind to man home-front posts say some Gulf War veterans now look down on them.

Amid the rejoicing over victory, friction has developed at Camp Pendleton between some cocky, newly returned veterans of the Gulf War and Marines who quietly served stateside during the conflict.

Many Marines who desperately wanted to fight alongside their comrades against Iraq feel guilty or depressed because they were left behind to run the base, train fresh troops and handle less-than-headline-grabbing jobs supporting the war effort.

But what comfort they take in having performed important noncombat duties is being undone by a festering resentment caused by some young Gulf War veterans who are bragging about their war experiences.

That especially irritates some stateside troops who already envy the Marines who went to war and fear that their own chances for promotion may suffer in the shrinking peacetime military, where medals and combat records can make a difference in career advancement.

Finally, the authoritative voice of a sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank, has been publicly raised on base to remind all Marines that they are equal.

In a commentary to the base newspaper, Sgt. Maj. H.L. Hatchett, a Vietnam veteran, told of being approached by a group of lance corporals and corporals who complained that Marines who weren’t deployed “were being subjected to various types of humiliation and harassment, sometimes even fighting.”

Other reports convinced Hatchett that the problem was coming largely from those who served in “rear elements who never heard a shot fired.”

One 20-year career Marine who rose through the enlisted ranks and missed the war, Capt. Don Gilbertson, remarked, “I’m seeing it already, ‘Hey, you don’t tell me (anything) because I’ve seen combat. . . . We’ve been there, you haven’t.’ ”

A base spokesman, 1st Lt. Michael DiLullo, acknowledged, “it’s very prevalent, and some Marines have been talked to about it. We’ve all seen it.”

Beside reports of verbal altercations and terse comments, part of the problem seems to be appearance. Gulf War veterans still wear their distinctive tan desert camouflage garb, setting them apart from other Marines in mixed-green uniforms.

To many Marines, including Lance Cpl. Richard Edwards, who suffered a knee injury and stayed behind while his combat unit was deployed, the desert wear is sported by some Desert Storm troops as “a status symbol.”

When he shops at the PX, Edwards said, “they’ll be walking out in their desert cammies. You (sense their attitude is), ‘Hey, I just got back, get out of my way, I don’t want to put up with any bull . . . ‘ “

Younger veterans, when asked about the situation, are guarded and downplay any feelings of superiority.

A 21-year-old private first class, who asked to be identified only as Doug, told a reporter, “I served my country, OK? I did the job. I know guys that didn’t get to go, and I don’t hold it against them. They’re Marines just like me.”

But, pressed about whether the young infantryman feels more special than other Marines because he served in the war, Doug paused, then grinned and nodded, “Yeah, more special.” Although his unit took part in liberating Kuwait City, Doug said he never fired his weapon during warfare, but did witness Iraqis surrendering.

This rift, which more seasoned Marines blame on the zeal of youth involved in a heady adventure, isn’t expected to dampen plans for an elaborate homecoming celebration. Nor does it change the pride all Marines express for the Corps’ dramatic role in helping to decisively win the war.

Still, “this is very touchy,” said Staff Sgt. Vicky Turney. “We all need to be adult about it. Everybody had a job and a place and a reason for being there.”

However, it does exacerbate feelings of disappointment by many Marines who, despite their eagerness for action, were ordered to remain on base during the war and don’t see themselves as deserving to be part of a celebration.

“We’re thankful they’re returning back as heroes, but I personally don’t feel like a hero,” said Capt. Crawford Kirkpatrick.

He was once an enlisted man, a rifleman, who left the Marine Corps, got a law degree, and re-entered as an officer. During the war, despite efforts to get shipped to the Persian Gulf, Kirkpatrick stayed behind as a lawyer attached to the base command.

“The Marine Corps is all about fighting, everybody wants to go to combat,” he said. “You really feel sort of useless . . . man, I really did want to go.”

But typical of the contradictory emotions, Kirkpatrick also knows he performed an important task and was part of a team effort. He helped countless Marines get their legal affairs in order before they shipped out.

“We worked incredible hours,” he said. “When you look at what we did, we accomplished a lot.”

Another Marine lawyer, Capt. Sean Freeman, a 1983 graduate of Annapolis, appealed to two superior officers to get deployed, but to no avail. Although he doesn’t hold a combat job, he still hankered for the experience of handling military cases in a theater of war.

For career-minded Marine officers who aspire to be colonels or generals--incredibly high goals in a narrow field--the war may boil down to a simple truth.

As Freeman put it, “There were those who went and those who didn’t.”

Besides the war’s effect on individual careers, many Marines will look on with bittersweet admiration as combat troops stand in formation to receive decorations for valor or meritorious achievement.

The Marine Corps is parsimonious about handing out awards, but even so, 300 medals have been bestowed so far, and additional citations are being reviewed for some of the 80,000 Marines who participated in the campaign.

About 30,000 of them came from Camp Pendleton, including reservists. So far, 29,000 have returned from the war zone. During their absence, 12,000 Marines remained on base, attached to the base command or the V Marine Expeditionary Force.

One sergeant with 14 years of noncombat service in the Corps remarked wistfully, shortly before the first Marines returned home: “There will be awards ceremonies.”

(Actually, some Marines who gave outstanding service at Camp Pendleton during the war are being nominated for commendations.)

Many officers in key positions are aware of divided emotions among Marines who stayed and those who went. They are emphasizing that victory festivities are for everybody.

Maj. Mark Thiffault, a celebration organizer, said, “there’s going to be some sense of ‘I’m somebody special because I’m a Saudi Marine.’ The Marines are trying to minimize this. The war was a total team effort.”

He said the message for Marines who served stateside is: “Your energies were well used. Don’t feel bad you didn’t get a chance to bust caps at the Iraqis.”

What’s important, said Thiffault, a Vietnam veteran, is for all Marines and the public to share the confidence and unity that brought victory in the Persian Gulf War--and to put to rest the old deep divisions over Vietnam.

“We’re looking at this (celebration) as an opportunity to heal a lot of national wounds,” Thiffault said.

Yet while the past is reconciled and the present venerated, some Marines are looking toward the future with career anxieties.

As America resumes a peacetime posture, there is renewed discussion of reducing military manpower to cut the monstrous defense budget. The Bush Administration has proposed lowering the number of active-duty personnel from 2 million to 1.65 million by 1995, affecting all branches of the service.

The anticipation of a smaller Marine Corps raises the specter of slower promotions and greater struggle for advancement. Raising the stakes, Marines who are repeatedly passed over for promotion face being retired from the Corps.

What influence service in the Persian Gulf War will play is on the minds of many Marines whose dreams of 20- or 30-year careers may be changed. Even without the war, “it’s been pretty competitive as it is,” said Maj. Rick DeChaineau, a spokesman for Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Some Marines, like Thiffault, think because the ground war lasted only 100 hours, a limited number of Marines had sufficient experience at arms to secure the destiny of their careers.

And, Marines point out, some specialized military jobs don’t primarily involve combat skills. So deployment or stateside service won’t necessarily alter chances of promotion.

However, there’s no dispute that combat experience is a big credential for such occupations as infantry or artillery.

In those cases, Marines who pulled stateside service would probably lose the advantage to war veterans. As DeChaineau put it, “since combat is our business, it gives somebody an acid test.”

For Capt. Gilbertson, serving as administrator for a logistic unit at Camp Pendleton during the war convinced him that being promoted is doubtful.

“Without a doubt, the one who’s been is combat is going to get the edge,” he said.

Gilbertson’s permanent rank is chief warrant officer-3, but he became a captain--four grades higher than his permanent rank--as a limited duty officer. That means he does a specialized job, but is not eligible for promotion to major unless he applies to become a regular officer.

But if he became a regular officer, he would have to compete with many other captains for promotion and run the risk of being retired if he failed to advance.

The war has underscored Gilbertson’s long-held opinion that he has a greater chance to remain in his beloved Marine Corps by staying a limited duty officer. Thus, he may be a captain for the rest of his career.

Even so, that’s better than what he saw happening before the war, when the Corps, as it may do again, was reducing manpower. “We were just looking at all kinds of ways to get rid of people,” he said.