Always faithful

Fear is not a word in Lance Cpl. Lauren Alvarez's vocabulary. On April 27, Alvarez will embark on a year-long journey that will take her to North Carolina, Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif., and finally to Iraq, where primarily, she will transport supplies to various locations in the region. Alvarez, 20, is looking forward to the adventure of it all and is counting on her extensive training to keep her safe overseas. "I'm not scared at all," she said. "As a Marine, you are taught not to fear anything." Alvarez is a member of the OAF Platoon based in Lubbock. The Marine Reserve Unit has about 40 members from all over the region. She believes her experience will help her bond with other platoon members. "In the field, everyone is out of their comfort zone and stressed out," she said. "You find out who your real friends are." Luxury items will be scarce. The Marines have a pack in which all their necessities must fit, or it will be left behind. They are allowed to take a few personal items, including laptop computers, USB drives, cameras and iPods. One thing that's not on the list: a cell phone, which will be difficult for Alvarez. "Letters from home are great, but it's not the same as talking to someone on the phone," she said. Alvarez joined the Marines on July 3, 2007, a spontaneous decision that she made after seeing the movie "9/11." "That got me," she said. "I wanted to serve my country and make the world more safe." Her parents found out after the papers were signed, and they were speechless. "We thought that she didn't tell us first because she didn't want us to try and talk her out of it, but we support her decision," said her mom, Deanah Alvarez. Lauren Alvarez has a strong support system in her family. "My parents are supportive but scared like any parents would be," she said about her Iraq assignment. She has seen a change in herself since joining the military. "It made me so much more disciplined, " she said. "I've grown up faster and realized what my priorities are." Her mother also has seen her daughter become more independent since becoming a Marine. "She's more mature, more respectful," Deanah Alvarez said. "I think she realizes how lucky she is and is thankful for everything she has." The military was not always in Lauren Alvarez's plans, not even after Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and another into the Pennsylvania countryside. Lauren was in a middle school history class when she started to realize something was wrong. "The teachers were all crying, but I didn't know what was going on," she said. "Later, I realized it could have been anyone." She graduated from Holy Cross Catholic Academy in 2007 and enrolled at Amarillo College, where she studied mass communication and worked as an assistant editor of "AC Current" and as a photograper for "The Ranger" newspaper. After joining the Marine Reserves, she spent three months at the beginning of 2008 in basic training at Paris Island, S.C., then four months at administration school in Jacksonville, S.C. After that she was trained in Lubbock to drive Humvees. She returned to AC last fall, this time as a nursing major. Mike Haynes, a mass communication instructor, first met Alvarez while she was a senior in high school. She applied to be a photographer for "The Ranger" and an assistant editor of "AC Current" for the following fall. "I was impressed with Lauren when she applied for a position on our magazine staff because she presented herself well," Haynes said. "She seemed to be up on current events and issues and had a professional and serious approach in her interview. She did some page design for "AC Current" and took photos for us, and she always was energetic." School will be put on hold after Lauren leaves the States, but not before the celebrations and sad goodbyes begin. "Every time she comes or goes, we are celebrating," Deanah said. Her parents plan to have a barbecue for extended family and close friends to say goodbye. "We are really proud of her," Deanah said. "We know she's going to be OK, and we have the whole family praying for her."

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