Photo By Cpl. Jo Jones | Staff Sgt. Christopher Honold, a night chief with Movement Control Center - Iraq,...... read more read more
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AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — When Staff Sgt. Christopher Ryan Honold joined the Marine Corps in 1998, he just wanted to get out of his hometown of Malvern, Ark., and travel the world. He had no idea that 11 years and five deployments later, he would still be wearing the same uniform and that the Marine Corps would have become his calling.
"I like seeing and experiencing different places," said Honold, an assault amphibious vehicle crew member by trade. "I have been able to meet a lot of different people."
Honold's first deployment was with the 2nd Amphibious Assault Battalion during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, and he later set sail with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit for a deployment which took him to Kuwait and Iraq a second time.
In 2006, Honold had an opportunity to serve in the Republic of Georgia as part of the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program. There, he was among a team of service members who spent six months teaching the Georgian army basic infantry skills. Honold followed this with a shipboard deployment to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf regions.
Now on his fifth deployment in six years, Honold serves as a night chief with Movement Control Center, Multi-National Force - West, aboard Al Asad Air Base. His primary duty is to track and update the status of convoys or patrols operating in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. Additionally, he is responsible for knowing alternate routes that convoys can take should any major incidents occur and vectoring those units down these new paths.
Honold said this deployment has allowed him to see a different side of his former job and the Marine Corps.
"I used to be the one going out on convoys, and now I'm the guy coordinating them and making things happen," said Honold. "Before I got here, I didn't even know the logistical side existed, so it's interesting to see how we get the convoys from place to place."
According to Maj. Christopher Hafer, Honold's officer-in-charge, Honold has adapted well to his new role and takes steps to ensure he and his Marines are taken care of, both personally and professionally.
"Staff Sgt. Honold is open-minded, eager to learn and provides good leadership to the younger Marines," said Hafer. "Effective leaders find a balance between mission accomplishment and troop welfare, and Staff Sgt. Honold understands that balance and is helping his Marines achieve that balance."
In addition to learning his role as a night chief, Honold is also managing family matters during this deployment. His wife has a lot on her hands trying to take care of their two young daughters while Honold is gone.
"Nothing in this world means more to me than my family," said Honold. "With my being in the Marine Corps though, I know they are provided for and taken care of."
Honold said it is hard being separated from his family, but he is grateful he can communicate with them through email, phone calls and letters.
To relieve the stress from work, family separation and other deployment challenges, Honold says he exercises and plays guitar.
"Music is my passion," said Honold. "It's one of the things that defines me."
But an even more defining quality is the love he shares with his family, and upon returning home from this deployment, Honold says he plans on spending as much time with them as possible.
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2009 04:52 |
| Story ID: | 35649 |
| Location: | AL ASAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 427 |
| Downloads: | 366 |
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