“Be in formation Oh-six hundred hours,” Capt. Chad Knowles instructed his men, the 182nd Cavalry, 41st Brigade, Alpha Troop as they stood in formation before hundreds of friends and family members, Tuesday, March 31, on their last night home before training to deploy to Iraq.
“You’ve got a lot of support here,” he reminded them. “Hooah!”
“Hooah!” came the reply from his men before breaking formation for the night.
Approximately 130 sol-diers from the mid-Valley are preparing to deploy to Iraq with the Oregon National Guard. Oregon is sending approximately 3,000 soldiers.
Family and friends sent off soldiers from Sweet Home, Lebanon, Albany, Brownsville, Jefferson and other area communities at a community farewell party at the Alpha Troop, 182nd Cavalry, armory in Lebanon.
The soldiers left on Wednesday for Camp Roberts, Calif., for three weeks of training, said Carrie Fox, who works for the A Troop Family Readiness Group. Oregon soldiers will return for mobilization ceremonies, to be held May 2 and May 4 around the state, before traveling to Ft. Stewart, Ga., for additional training. From there, the soldiers travel to Iraq. A small group will remain behind to run the armory.
The guardsmen will be away from their families for a total of 13 months.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” Lebanon Councilman Bob Elliott said, quoting the Bible, to those attending the farewell event.
Humbled and grateful, he said, “I want to challenge everyone here to not forget and not to take their sacrifice for granted. We cannot let our men and women leave today by saying we support you. We must prove our support.”
He urged people to write letters, send care packages and support soldiers’ families while they are gone.
Annette Allyn of Sweet Home said she was prepared for the deployment. She saw off her husband, Bill, and son, Sgt. Michael Holder, 22.
“I think we’ve known that they’re leaving for too long,” she said.
This is the second time Spc. Bill Allyn, 38, will serve in Iraq. He was there during Desert Storm, which began in January 1991 and ended in February 1991.
“I think God is good and will keep them safe,” Annette Allyn said. She also is taking comfort in the decline in violence in Iraq. “That makes it better. It’s not as scary and dangerous now.”
She said she’s proud of her husband and son. “I think it’s good that they’re going because someone needs to serve our country and protect our land.”
Her husband echoed that sentiment.
“I’m kind of looking forward to going back over there and doing our job,” Bill Allyn said.
Holder said he’s not nervous about the deployment, although, “I’m sure as soon as bullets are flying overhead, there will be a chain reaction.”
Even though there will be times where “it’ll suck,” he is looking forward to seeing new places and meeting new people, he said. “It should be fun.”
Allyn said no one knows precisely what the National Guardsmen will be doing.
“We don’t even know where we’re going yet,” he said.
“It’s changed three times,” Holder said.
Staff Sgt. David Reynolds, 40, of Sweet Home and an employee of McCollum Logging, also is returning to Iraq after serving in the Army during Desert Storm.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. He was stationed in Saudi Arabia and reached the outskirts of Baghdad with the 101st Airborne.
“It should be a whole different ball game,” he said. “The reason I want to go back is it’s going to close a chapter in my life.”
The United States did not get to Saddam Hussein during Desert Storm, he said. He realizes Hussein has already been captured and executed, but he’ll still be part of the same war effort.
He isn’t nervous about it at all, he said. “I’m in an outstanding, fantastic crew.”
Privates Casey Johnson, 18, and Derrek Sharp, 19, said they were looking forward to being deployed.
Johnson is looking forward to seeing “the country, seeing other parts of the world,” he said. He even hopes to see some action.
“We are adrenaline junkies,” Sharp said.
“We’re trained for it,” Johnson said.
The toughest part of deploying will be missing their families and friends, Sharp said.
“It’s not like in basic,” Johnson said. “We didn’t talk to anybody ever.”
They’ll be able to communicate with their families and friends during the deployment, Johnston said.
When they return, Johnson said, he is planning to attend school and begin a career as a police officer.
Sharp, a delivery driver for Figaro’s, plans to attend college, become a mechanic and move to Stayton when he gets back.
Pvt. Jeremy Sanders, 26, of Sweet Home is a handyman and does renovations when he’s home.
“I’m kind of excited to go,” he said. He’s looking forward to a new experience and seeing “a different culture and places I’ve never been.”
However, he will miss his family the most as he leaves behind a wife and daughter, who will start kindergarten while he is gone.
“I’m going to miss my family, my sons,” Pfc. Christian Riley, 30, said. He leaves a wife and three children.
He has been in the Guard for 7 1/2 years, he said, serving in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and staying there until about two weeks after Hurricane Rita.
“I’m a little bit worried, but we’ve got some good command staff,” he said. “They’ve been there and are doing everything they can to make sure we’re prepared. I’m excited because it’s somewhere new that I haven’t been yet.”
He’s even looking forward to adding Georgia to the list of places he’s been.
Many of the soldiers expressed their appreciation for the support of their communities.
“If it wasn’t for the people that support us we wouldn’t doing what we’re doing,” Allyn said. “People walk up, see we’re in the Guard and they give us hugs, shake our hands and say thanks for what we’re doing. It just makes it all worth it.”
Knowles, the troop’s commander, has spent three years at Lebanon, he said.
“And now I actually have the opportunity to take them into battle. Thank you for raising these soldiers up to be who they are today. We know this deployment will not be successful without the support of this community.”
“We appreciate your support,” he told those attending the party. “You have no idea what it means to the families and soldiers.”