RJ Ernst

27, Newtown
Sergeant, Marine Corps
Deployed to Iraq Spring 2005, in Iraq currently

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Published: Jul 1, 2009

RJ Ernst
27, Newtown
Sergeant, Marine Corps
Deployed to Iraq Spring 2005, in Iraq currently

“Hey man, I received a letter about recall,” read a text message RJ Ernst received from a fellow Marine. The next day Ernst’s letter came, with orders to report to Kansas City, Mo., for “muster” (military inspection). At first Ernst chalked it up to a routine summons — “a check-up,” or maybe an attempt to prompt people to volunteer. Ernst was prepared to redeploy (he had already served one tour) if ordered — but only if ordered. “I thought they might offer a bonus,” he says, “to get people who might not have something going on.” As the date closed in, his optimism dried up. “I started to think,” says Ernst, “they wouldn’t have paid for my flight unless … this might be the real deal.” In Kansas City, Ernst received his orders to deploy in the spring of 2009.

He opted not to schedule any classes for the upcoming semester at Bucks County Community College, where he was studying criminal justice. And although he took and passed a police qualification test, he proceeded no further. After receiving the original summons, he’d told his girlfriend, “I would rather break up if you can’t handle it.” But they decided they could make it work.

Ernst’s first deployment was during the height of the anti-war movement, in 2005-06. I asked Ernst if he was affected by what was happening stateside. He responded quickly, “No.” He followed, “I’m not saying people didn’t talk to mom and dad, and we have some TVs, we hear what’s going on. But, we’re already there, no matter what people thought. At least on me, it didn’t have any effect.”

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