Now, they are sailors

By Jim Haley

Herald Writer

EVERETT — They care for plants, manage computer networks or inspect vehicles crossing the Canadian border into the United States.

But that was before Sept. 11.

Now, they are sailors, members of Inshore Boat Unit 11, the first area Navy reserve group called up as a unit to help the nation get through the terrorist crisis.

They train at the Everett Naval Reserve Center adjacent to Naval Station Everett, and they are headed for some unknown location for an indefinite period to safeguard naval warships and facilities.

"We feel good. We’re ready," said Cmdr. Gary Buchanan, the group’s commanding officer.

Orders activating the unit were released earlier this week, and nearly half the unit had gathered by Friday in a classroom at the reserve center to go over issues such as where their pay goes and who to contact in case something happens.

Local faces of the Reserve Neil Chisarik “The only thing that bothers me about it is not being around my son.” – Neil Chisarik, of Everett Jesse Cobb “It feels good that we are able to take that training the taxpayers spend a lot of money on and show that we are ready.” – Jesse Cobb, of Bellingham

It was logical that the unit would be called into action during uncertain times when terrorists have already inflicted wounds on the nation. IBU 11 operates armed small boats that are able to protect inlets, channels, harbors and ships — places where someone bent on destruction could do even more damage.

For all the sailors, the call to active duty was a personal inconvenience, but they saw it coming and didn’t object.

In fact, there seemed to be a wellspring of patriotism oozing from the sailors and their employers, who are cooperating well with the loss of workers.

"All parts of the community are stepping up to the plate to accommodate this," said Capt. John Landon, commander of Naval Reserve Readiness Command Region 22.

There is no active-duty Navy unit that does the same work as this group, so it’s no surprise they were called up to add to naval force security, Landon said.

Unit members train in Everett but live up and down the I-5 corridor and beyond.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Neil Chisarik, 44, of Everett drives one of the 27-foot boats the unit uses for patrols. He’s not married, so he has fewer complications than some in getting away for an indefinite period. But he works for a small business that tends to plants in office buildings, and his absence is a hardship on the company, he said.

It’s particularly hard on Chisarik because he was summoned in June to augment a similar unit that has been guarding warships in the Persian Gulf. He had just returned a week before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and knew his unit would be called up.

"The only thing that bothers me about it is not being around my (8-year-old) son," Chisarik said. He planned to sit down and have a father-son talk about why his dad would be gone again.

For Jesse Cobb, 29, the most difficult part of activation is being away from his wife. The Bellingham resident works at the Canadian border crossing checking vehicles coming into the United States. Border guards are short in supply, too, so his supervisor was sad to see him leave, said Cobb, a first class petty officer who teaches gunnery.

Cobb used to be in the regular Navy and spent part of his career on the USS Callaghan in Everett. He quit because of the frequent separations from his wife.

The activation "brings to mind all the time I was gone," he said. "She understands what I have to do, but she doesn’t have to like it."

For himself, he’s committed to the unit.

"The exciting part is you train and you train for these situations," Cobb said. "It feels good we are able to take that training the taxpayers spend a lot of money on and show that we are ready."

Some have come a long way to serve.

Command Chief Jon Caldwell, 39, used to live in Renton before he got a new job managing a computer network for a company near Denver. Now he spends his own money traveling to attend drills in Everett.

"It’s a great unit to be with," Caldwell said. "We have a lot of fun doing what we’re doing."

Activation is fine with him.

"It’s what we do; it’s what they pay us for. It’s what we expect," Caldwell said.

The sailors from IBU 11 aren’t the only reservists to be called up in the emergency, but it is the only complete unit.

Seven others with police, construction or language skills also have been called up, said Cmdr. Tonya Pringle of the Everett Reserve Center.

"I have a ton of volunteers," she said of those who have offered to go. "I’m just so impressed."

As it turned out, Pringle was assigned to the Everett facility earlier this year, coming from Washington, D.C. She lost several friends when terrorists crashed a commercial jetliner into the Pentagon.

She’s glad she’s involved in forces that can respond against the terrorists.

"It makes it a little personal," Pringle said.

You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447

or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.