[Vision2020] Idaho National Guard Soldiers Prepare for Iraq

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (August 16, 2010) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Idaho National Guard soldiers prepare for Iraq
Almost half will be going for second time

A small contingent of Idaho National Guard soldiers will leave Tuesday for
Gowen Field at Boise to set up the final round of training before being
assigned to the U.S. Army for duty in Iraq.

The majority of soldiers will arrive at Boise Aug. 21 for three weeks of
annual training that will precede two months at Camp Shelby, Miss., and 10
months in Iraq. For about 45 percent of the 1,500 Idaho soldiers destined
for Iraq, it will be their second deployment there, Col. Tim Marsano,
Idaho National Guard public affairs officer, said Friday. Almost 700 of
the men and women gearing up to leave spent almost a year in Iraq in
2004-05, came home and continued training, knowing they could be called up
again.

About 2,000 Idahoans were in the earlier deployment, the largest in the
state’s history, he said.

“We’ve been extremely pleased with the retention of our folks,” Marsano
said. “We were concerned that after that year they were gone, there would
be a mass exodus, but that didn’t happen. We have great unit cohesion.

“With that many returning soldiers, obviously it’s a great mentoring
opportunity for the soldiers that are newer. We are definitely going to
leverage that experience, not only with actual soldier skills but when
somebody leaves home for a year, there’s a lot of transition that takes
place in that person’s mind,” Marsano added.

That’s where older soldiers are expected to be of great help to younger
ones, he said. In addition to the 1,500 from Idaho units, the brigade will
include another 600 each from Oregon and Montana, Marsano said. About 5
percent of the 2,700, or about 135, are women, he said.

Soldiers will get about a week at home between Sept. 10, the end of annual
training, commonly referred to as summer camp, and federal activation
Sept. 17, after which they will no longer be under the control of the
governor.

They won’t leave the state, however, until about Sept. 21, when they will
debark from various locations around the state for Camp Shelby. The exact
departure date hasn’t been confirmed, Marsano said.

Troops will spend about two months at Shelby, where they will get
unit-level training geared to helping them work as a team when they arrive
at their final assignment in Iraq, he said.

Both in Idaho and at Shelby, Marsano said, training will be at an
extremely high level. “Exceptionally good trainers” are coming to Idaho to
teach the proper way to conduct convoy escorts and remain safe from
roadside bombs, also known as improvised explosive devices, which are the
primary threat in Iraq.

In Iraq, Marsano said they will be split into smaller units - he’s heard
it could be groups of 100 to 120 soldiers, although that’s not certain -
to handle convoy operations, installation security and other tasks
throughout the country. Preliminary information is a large number of the
Idahoans are expected to be based in the Baghdad area, he said.

Six years ago, they were primarily in the Kirkuk area north of Baghdad.

This deployment will differ in that only about 2,700 people from the
3,800-strong brigade are going overseas. Last time, only skeleton forces
were left at northern Idaho armories.

This time, more people are selected for specific mission tasks, Marsano
said. As of last week, decisions were still being made on who was going or
not going.

Among those staying are Lt. Col. Darren Blagburn, commander of the 145th
Brigade Support Battalion headquartered at Lewiston. He has transferred to
Boise where he will be rear detachment commander, Marsano said. One of his
duties will be overseeing the support programs for the families of
deployed soldiers.

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Many happy returns, 126th Engineer Company.

Pro patria,

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the
tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."

 -- Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.

Sidebar to Area Man - Has the city got anything planned for the 126th
Engineers upon their departure?