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With tears, farewells, reservist is off to war
By TERRI D. REEVES View related 10 News video: PALM HARBOR -- The news that naval reservist Kim Ripoli would be leaving for Iraq came so suddenly Thursday her friends and colleagues had to scramble to throw her a going-away party. Ripoli, 40, of Tampa is a member of the 4th Medical Battalion, which is assembling at Camp Pendleton in California to support the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force heading toward Baghdad. The battalion, whose members come from all over the country, provides immediate stabilization and support for wounded Marines. At the Central Florida Institute, a postsecondary medical and dental training facility in Palm Harbor, Ripoli is a surgical technology instructor. Her boss, Gary Gosset, had just two hours to mobilize the school Thursday and give Ripoli a surprise sendoff. By 2:15 p.m., he had secured an American flag, two vanilla sheet cakes, a karaoke machine, two lead singers and about 150 students, staff and administrators. As many wiped tears from their eyes, instructor Brian McTigrit led the group singing, I'm Proud to Be an American. With only three minutes' notice, he could not remember all of the words, which lent comic relief to a serious occasion. "There is no one else I would embarrass myself like this for," he said as he hugged Ripoli afterward. Gosset delivered a prayer and then institute director Evelyn Presley led the group in God Bless America. "We will not forget you, and your job will be here when you get back," she said. "And kick a little butt for us," said Deb Hoffman, the school's placement director. Ripoli will certainly be prepared to do so if needed. The 5-foot-1, 128-pound hospital corpsman first class will pack about 100 pounds as she crosses Iraq. She'll don a helmet, flak jacket, medical supplies, 9mm sidearm and M-16 rifle "to protect our patients and ourselves," she said. Debbie Janeczko, the institute's director of education, described Ripoli as outgoing and a very dedicated team player. "She knew the call was coming and wasn't shirking it at all," she said. Kim Carey of Clearwater, who coordinates the dental assisting program, was emotional during the sendoff. Her cousin, Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Buesing, was killed in battle Sunday. "I was trying so hard not to cry," Carey said. "This whole war is very personal to me now. He was a great young man with a promising future. Now I'm scared for Kim. I know that God is overseeing all of this but still I am worried." Ripoli joined the Navy in 1988 and was on active duty for seven years. In 1991, she served as a hospital corpsman third class during the Gulf War. She said her experience with war and sandstorms has prepared her well and she was anxious to join her unit. "I'm not afraid as long as I'm with the Marines," said Ripoli, who lives with a brother in Tampa and has a mother and two other siblings in New Jersey. "I know they will protect us. I might be a little nervous, but if I would have been left behind, I would have been much more upset."
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
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