Annual training
Varied reasons prompt local men to join regional Guard outfit
By: Pat Caldwell
Argus Observer
Sunday, August 2, 2009 12:36 AM PDT
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| Pat Caldwell | Argus Observer
Stan Opdahl, (right), Moscow, a Payette High School graduate, stands next to best friend Allen Blackburn, also of Payette, beside their M1A1 Abrams tank on the Orchard Training Area, Thursday. Opdahl and Blackburn are both part of Ontario’s Guard unit, Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment. |
ORCHARD TRAINING AREA, IDAHO — The Idaho high desert south of Boise is hot, the training schedule for Oregon Guardsmen is intense and the hours of the day stretch into the horizon.
But Baker City’s Chris Gibson said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Gibson, a member of Ontario’s Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard, said despite the harsh conditions, he enjoys working on a big M1A1 Abrams main battle tank.
“As much as I complain about it, I don’t know what I’d do without it. I love the guys. I love tanking,” Gibson, a staff sergeant, said Thursday, as he sat on one of Charlie Company’s big tanks on a lonely, desolate piece of high desert.
In the distance from Gibson’s tank, the Owyhee Mountains climbed straight up into the clear, blue southern Idaho sky, and about a mile in the distance stretched a large set of metal frames holding up a power line. Other than the power line, the evidence of civilization was absent.
Eastern Oregon’s 3rd Battalion journeyed into the high desert environment of the Orchard Training Area more than two weeks ago to complete a three-week annual training exercise. The 3rd Battalion consists of Guard units from Hood River, The Dalles, Redmond, Prineville, Pendleton, La Grande, Baker City, Hermiston and Ontario.
Gibson, who joined the Guard more than 12 years ago, said part of his success as a citizen-soldier revolves around his employer, Gentry Ford, in Baker City.
“My employer supports the Guard really well. It’s nice to have a supportive employer. This, out here, isn’t a vacation,” he said.
Gibson, who works as a technician at Gentry Ford, said his Guard duties often expand, consuming more of his time between the monthly drills and the mandatory summer training regime.
That often can be difficult, he said, with a young family.
“I find myself doing Guard stuff in my civilian life. But that’s part of the make-up. You are a citizen- soldier. It can be hard on the family, but I think they’re better for it,” he said.
The other crewmen on Gibson’s tank — Stan Opdahl and Allen Blackburn — both grew up in Payette but joined the Guard for different reasons.
Opdahl said his reasons for joining up were simple: college money.
“My family would not have had the money to support me through college,” he said.
Opdahl and Blackburn became friends back in grade school, and Blackburn said his buddy convinced him to join up.
“I was pushing him to get in,” Opdahl said.
Blackburn also said the extra money played a role to convince him to join the 3rd Battalion.
“I came in for the bonus (money). To help out my family,” Blackburn said.
Both of the Payette High School graduates said the training cycle for Guardsmen on the Orchard Training Area is a busy one.
“I would not call this boring. And there is spontaneity. Things change quickly. You’ll have a plan and then that may change,” Opdahl said.
And sleep? All three tankers said sleep is a luxury while they are out on the desert.
“After a while, you are tired all the time,” Gibson said. “But that’s part of the training.”
For Opdahl, despite the dust, dirt and heat, there are advantages to the part-time Guard gig.
“It is something you are not going to be able to do somewhere else,” he said.
Pat Caldwell is the editor of the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at PatC@argusobserver.com
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