Mark "Brett" Christensen

@misc{christensennd,
  title = {Mark "Brett" Christensen},
  keywords = {1st Battalion 6th Regiment, AK417, AT4, Baghdad, Bahria, Boot Camp, Call of Duty, Camp Geiger, Camp Guard, Camp LeJeune, Civilian Life, DEBT, Fallujah, Fire Teams, Gov Center, Insurgents, Interpreters, M16, M16 A2, M240 Gulf, Marine Combat Training, Navy Seals, Night Vision, Parris Island, South Carolina, PFT, Post Deployment Test, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Quarter Deck Space, Ramadi, Redding, Pennsylvania, Rifelman, RIT, Rules of Engagement, SAW, Special Forces, TAPS, United States Marine Corps, Video games},
  abstract = {Christensen (1985 - ) joined the Marines as part of the high school DEBT program and attended boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina. Upon completion, he reported to Marine Combat Training Camp Geiger in North Carolina. Christensen’s first deployment was to Fallujah and his second deployment was to Ramadi. He believes Marines face a huge stigma upon returning home.Interviewee Unit/Title1st Battalion 6th RegimentYears Active2003-2010 (?)EnlistmentMark “Brett” Christensen was born in Redding, Pennsylvania in 1985. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2003 during his junior year on high school as part of the DEBT program. His father owned a construction company and his mother was a homemaker. Christensen was very active in sports in high school and remembers his high school as a good mix of a rural environment and the suburbs. He was especially active in martial arts and started his training when he was in the eighth grade. Christensen chose the Marine Corps because he wanted the challenge and everyone told him the Marines offered the most difficult training. He hoped to go into the Special Forces since their training was especially known to be challenging. Endurance training was something Christensen showed an aptitude for and he remembers instances of challenging himself when was younger by training obsessively with his martial arts and by standing in the snow barefoot for long periods of time. His grandfather father had served in the military and had been stationed on the USS Nevada. TrainingParris Island, South Carolina was where Christensen attended boot camp. From the outset, everything he believed about the Marines and their efficiency was turned on its head. He was at his going away party when he received a call from his enlister demanding to know where he was since they had to leave immediately for boot camp and not on their agreed date. Christensen had to leave his party, rush home and leave without getting to say goodbye to all of his family members and friends. On the airplane ride, all the guys heading to Paris Island were talking and trying to steel up their nerve. As they got closer, there was less talking and when they passed through the gates at Paris Island there was complete silence and the fear was palpable. The experience of boot camp was a blur and Christensen doesn’t remember much except that it was physically and emotionally draining. Verbal abuse was a common phenomenon during boot camp. Christensen remembers that newbies were immediately called names with the intention of tearing down a recruit before building him back up. There was a rule against physical abuse but there were also ways around that edict. In one case, Christensen’s squad leaders had the squad go into the mess hall and drink four glasses of milk before taking the squad outside and exercising them until one of them vomited. A lot of the new recruits would start to cry. Christensen didn’t find the physical requirements as difficult as others did and he attributes this to the strong physical shape he was in as a result of his martial arts training. He was able to max out on the PFT (Physical Fitness Test) that has three main components: a three-mile run, a required amount of sit-ups in two minutes and a required amount of pull-ups. Christensen also didn’t have that much of an issue with the yelling since his mother tended to yell a lot while he was growing up. One practice that was used to train the recruits was called the Quarter Deck Space. This practice involved going up to this small space by where the drill instructors slept and they would yell a variety of instructions at the recruits such as drill moves and calisthenics. The goal was to push you until you couldn’t go anymore. Boot camp lasted for thirteen weeks after which Christensen received ten days of leave. Upon returning he reported to Marine Combat Training. Infantry training occurred at Camp Geiger in North Carolina. There were so many incoming Marines that they wound up being held in the barracks for 2-3 weeks until the prior class could graduate. This was called Camp Guard. During this time, he stood guard in rotation. Infantry training lasted eight weeks. During this time Christensen learned weapons and patrol tactics. The basic weapon systems he learned were M16, M16-A2, the SAW (squad automatic weapon) and the AT4, which is a rocket launcher. He also got to shoot the M240 Gulf and the 50-calliber rifles. Christensen was used to guns as he grew up with them but he was a hunter. The one time he went hunting with his father he purposely missed shooting the deer. He started shooting at the age of eight and started by learning on a 22. According to Christensen, the M16 shoots 2-2-3 smaller calibers than going up against an AK 417. It has better velocity and goes through things easier. Marines have to be able to shoot 500 yards in order to qualify. There is a “cool feeling” associated with getting your first M16 but that feeling soon goes away as you realize how heavy it is to carry around. The squad atom weapon shoots the same round. This weapon was always given to the new guy and was used to cover and suppress. The size of the squad would vary with the operation. A typical squad size would be eight or nine and Marines would work in teams of three or four leapfrog units until a room/cities were cleared out. Squad “fire teams” would generally consist of two corporals and sergeants though there were many times when lance corporals would be put in an authority position. Christensen entered the Marines with the goal of being in the Special Forces. He underwent RIT (Recon Indoctrination Training) as a Rifleman. Sixty-five to sixty-eight Marines took the test and only seven passed. Christensen was one of the Marines to pass but when Marines were called forward to be separated out his name was not called. He questioned this oversight and was told something was wrong with his eyes and suddenly Christensen’s goals and thoughts for his future were turned on their head. DeploymentIn March 2005, Christensen was assigned to the 1st Battalion 6th Regiment (Bravo Company) and was soon sent to Iraq. They landed in Baghdad and were then flown to Bahria before finally heading to Fallujah. They arrived right after The Battle of Fallujah and it was a relatively quiet deployment without engagement. In a typical day, they would be placed on patrol so as to exhibit a constant presence. It would be three days on patrol and then three days at an observation post and then three days doing firm based security. On the 10th day you would get a day off, although sometimes you would get the day off during the firm based work. This equated to 6 hours to do what you wanted such as calling home or exercising. It was a grinding rotation with conditions Christensen describes as hot and miserable. The Marines had taken over homes in the northern part of the city. The homes were cleared out and hexo barriers were erected around them. There were approximately one hundred guys in four houses and that is where you spent the majority of your time. Christensen spent seven months before being moved to Bahria where there was air conditioning, a chow hall, a gym and televisions. This was a departure from his time spent in the northern part of the city where conditions were extremely bare bones. Most of the entertainment for the Marines consisted of watching movies on portable DVD players. At the end of the deployment, there was a big TV and a PS2 where Marine splayed Madden and Call of Duty. Not into video games, Christensen mostly worked out and read. Alcohol was not available officially and wasn’t much of a problem while on deployment. Christensen believes that alcohol becomes more of an issue when soldiers return home. Christensen came home from Fallujah after seven months and was told by a friend that he should try out for the Navy Seals. However, to do so would mean he would have to try out behind his commander’s back. Afraid he wouldn’t make it and would have to face the wrath of his commander, Christensen opted not to try. According to Christensen, the Marines do a great job with the return home. There is music and Marines are able to seek out family immediately after departing from the bus. His homecoming took place at Camp LeJeune. Upon returning, he stayed at the block until Christmas. Christensen was deployed for a second time to Ramadi preceded by a six-month work up. At the time, Ramadi was considered the most dangerous place in the world. It was a completely different experience from his first deployment and most of the time was spent repelling attacks and surviving. They were stationed in the “Gov Center” which was the bottom floor of an old government building that had been taken over. It was a very difficult assignment because most averaged four hours of sleep that was dangerous given the circumstances. Christensen says that he fired his weapon “a ton” and that there were very little night patrols due to safety concerns. There wasn’t as much direct action as there was staving off firefight. Night vision uses ambient light and then magnifies it. Yet, it lacks depth perception. It’s great to use while on post but they were required to take off the night vision while on patrol. As Christensen was leaving the Marines were starting to phase in new weapons. In Ramadi, most of the fighting was with insurgents. It was difficult fighting people not in uniform because you always had to be on alert. A large part of what Christensen and his regiment did was to set up a network for the Iraqis to get aid. While the ability to clean out a place from insurgents demonstrates power, the results are normally not long lasting. He notes that is what Marines are good at-that type of shock and awe fire power. Interpreters were always present in the field but all Marines were taught certain essential phrases such as how to yell at people to stop. Christensen found most of the people he encountered in Iraq to be incredibly understanding. They would break into a home to occupy it and the family of the home would turn around and offer them tea. Christensen carried a backpack of chocolate, soccer balls and school supplies to give out to the children he met. While his battalion suffered twelve casualties, there were no losses in his company. Christensen says the first time he was shot at it caught him by surprise. There was a high-pitched sound and there was a moment before he remembered to fire back. It then became routine. While some of the Marines Christensen was with wanted to fight, others became depressed. After two to three months, the boredom of having no engagements made many men hope for some action. The Rules of Engagement were clearly specified and were expected to be upheld. In the lower ranks, there was some frustration over rules they perceived as ridiculous. Coming HomeAfter Ramadi, Christensen came home and spent the remainder of his enlistment handing out weed whackers. He was sent back to his Marine regiment where he feels the returning vets were treated like children. Christensen still feels anger about how they were treated during this time. There was a TAPS class to help people re-acclimate tot he world after he military. Christensen found it odd that the military tells Marines to put leadership on their resumes and yet treated them like children during the end of their enlistment. The Marines also implemented a Post Deployment test to check the mental state of the Marines but Christensen says no one in their right mind would answer in a way to raise a red flag. Christensen says that the VA has done a great job of pushing for services for returning veterans but he also thinks there is a tendency to over diagnose PSTD. Christensen says he went to get help for a jaw problem and was asked about PSTD. He feels like it is being over diagnosed and that the ramifications of this prevent Marines from obtaining jobs, such as an Air Marshall, due to the medications administered. Christensen says that most of the guys he knows personally haven’t had a problem adjusting to society but society has had a problem accepting them back into the fold. He says that films have painted a picture of returning vets as unstable and capable of cracking at any time. It’s a huge stigma Marines, especially those who served in the Infantry, face upon returning home. Christensen has spent the last four years in school. He doesn’t usually divulge his service and has found that people's reactions usually tend to be either to thank him for his service or to ask if he killed anyone. Christensen has mixed feelings as to whether it was all worth it.},
  language = {English},
}