Despite missing his daughter and Waffle House, this Cedartown native enjoys the service.

Sgt. Brian Jarrell, a Cedartown Marine serving in Iraq, said 'We are wanted here. These people need our help.'
There`s still no Waffle House in Iraq.

'Man I wish I had some Waffle House right about now. I love that place,' said Cedartown native Brian Jarrell via e-mail from a Marine base in Al Asad.

Last year, the Rome News-Tribune spoke with Jarrell during his deployment in Fallujah. This year, the now Sgt. Jarrell wrote from Al Asad, where he is currently with Marine Wing Support Squadron 273.

Al Asad, in the northern part of the country about 180 kilometers west of Baghdad and just south of the Euphrates River, isn`t as exciting as his previous post, Jarrell said.

'This place is a lot more quiet than where I was at last time,' he said. 'There really ain’t too much action going on here.'

Jarrell said Iraq isn`t necessarily how everyone back home thinks. 'It is surprisingly calm here,' he said. 'Iraq is`t what the news puts it out to be. We are wanted here. These people need our help.'

His new base has a number of creature comforts, many of which were`t available in Fallujah, he said. 'We have great living environments. We have showers, beds, A/C, great chow and all that good stuff.'

With his new home came a new job for the former 'Hummer ambulance' driver. Now, instead of patching up wounded Marines, Jarrell makes sure they stay safe.

In his multiple roles as motor transportation clerk, company training non-commissioned officer and company safety representative, he`s in charge of training for his fellow Marines.

It`s a welcome change, he said.

'My job is a lot easier, `cause I don`t have to deal with the thought of someone hurt or dead in my ambulance,' he said. 'I make sure that the Marines are safe at whatever they do.'

Though originally planning to head back to Cedartown in June, Jarrell felt his time with the Corps wasn't finished. He has since re-upped with the Corps for another four years.

'I love serving my country so I decided to stay in to fight for it,' he said. 'I love the Marine Corps, and it was the right decision.'

And fighting for his country means fighting for his daughter, 3-year-old Avriel. Jarrell doesn`t get to see his daughter as often as he`d like since his divorce from his ex-wife, Lori, last February, but he hopes she`ll someday understand what he does is important.

'I want her to understand that her daddy is fighting for our country, and I want her to be proud of it,' he said.

As he has for the past five years, Jarrell spent his June 11 birthday away from home. This year he was in desert operation training in Yuma, Ariz., gearing up for a return to the Middle East.

It won`t be the last time he celebrates that day in the desert. 'I plan on staying in the Marine Corps for a while, so I will come back out here at least another time or two.'

But he doesn`t mind. 'I love this stuff,' Jarrell said. 'I want people to know that even the smallest people from the smallest town can make a difference in life and with their country.'