Nervousness, Tears, Hope Fill Pendleton

In the middle of a church service Sunday morning dedicated to Operation Restore Hope, 22-year-old Lori Brefini turned to catch a glimpse of her 13-month-old daughter, playing happily behind the glass window of the chapel’s baby room.

Brefini laughed. Then she burst out crying.

Her husband is off the coast of Somalia on a Navy ship--one of 1,800 Marines soon to be joined by thousands more--and Brefini’s fluctuating emotions were typical at the base where more than 4,000 Marines await deployment orders.

While a group of about 400 Marines slated to leave Sunday was delayed, possibly until Tuesday, the pace of preparation picked up as spouses were briefed on the logistics of separation, and supplies--everything from toilet paper to water--continued to be packed and loaded onto military trucks.

While some view the Somali operation as just another job, for some--such as Brefini--the prospects of helping thousands who are starving in the East African nation has softened the blow of a lonely Christmas season.

“I know it is for the good of mankind, and as Christians I think it is our job to do that,” she said after the Protestant service, which focused on maintaining hope in tough times. “But you have all those young warlords there. They are going to be blockading supplies. It scares me. And there are a lot of diseases.”

Her husband--Lance Cpl. Eric Brefini--has been gone since February, when their daughter was less than 3 months old. Lori Brefini does not expect him to return until at least April 15. But most of the Camp Pendleton Marines headed for Somalia are still on base, living out of packed bags, taking care of last-minute details--and waiting.

Of the 28,000 troops the United States has promised to send to Somalia to protect deliveries of humanitarian supplies, 16,000 will come from Southern California, and at least 4,000 will come from Camp Pendleton’s 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said 1st Lt. Kevin Bentley, a base spokesman.

Although this mission is drastically different from that of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield in the Persian Gulf, familiar stresses have set in for those who will be left behind.

Sunday, Marines and their spouses once again gathered to be briefed about the upcoming journey and to ask questions that covered everything from how to update wills and designate powers of attorney to where to send mail and how to get news of births or dying parents through the Red Cross to troops cut off from communications in the strife-torn East African nation.

Once again, a system of “key wives” who contact other wives of Marines with news will kick into gear, and faith support services at the 16 chapels on base will soon begin, base officials said.

At the base theater, families could pick up copies of “Daddy’s Days Away,” camouflage-covered booklets designed by a group of Marine wives to ease the pain for children separated from their fathers.

“Many, many days will go by before Daddy comes home from his trip,” one section reads, suggesting that children keep a journal for dad, get together with other children whose dads are deployed, and paste in photographs of memorable occasions dad may miss.

“This is always hard,” said Maria Sanchez, flanked by her three young sons. “This time I think it is scary because we don’t know how long they will be gone. And I have got three boys who are going to torture me the minute he leaves,” she said of her husband.

Last time, her oldest son, 10, tried to jump out of the car after the boys had said goodby to their father, said Sanchez, who added that the boys tend to blame his absences on her.

While some Marines said they would follow orders and do their job with equal enthusiasm regardless of the mission, some took a larger view of what the U.S. military presence in Somalia may mean in years to come.

“It is actually nice to be able to do something that directly impacts other people. The bottom line is there are people who need help and we have an opportunity to help them,” said Lt. Ken Lasure, 31, of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion.

But those familiar with Somalia said the stark conditions will not be easy to get used to.

“Hot and windy and flies. That’s all I remember. And dusty,” said Staff Sgt. John Kitchen, who escorted media into Somalia for a month this fall and will be going back any day.

“The smells were just horrible. I wasn’t prepared for the shock of seeing so many bodies. In one area I remember counting 35 bodies in shallow graves.”