A hard economic hit
Sunday, March 4, 2007 12:07 AM PST
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| Argus observer file photo
Oregon Army National Guardsmen from Eastern ORegon’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavarly (Armor) upload M1A1 tank ammo at Gowen FIeld in July. The local Guard unit could be called ot active duty to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. |
Pat Caldwell Argus Observer
ONTARIO
If Eastern Oregon’s Army National Guard unit is mobilized for active duty Snake River Correctional Facility will face an immediate and significant loss of manpower.
SRCI officials are grappling to find a method to meet the demands of a sudden deficit of employees as the odds increase the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry (Armor) will be activated and deployed overseas.
While there has been no official word, either from the governor’s office, the Oregon Military Department or the Defense Department, about a mobilization, SRCI officials are taking nothing for granted as they struggle to find a viable way to fill vacant slots.
Steve Franke, SRCI’s assistant superintendent of security services, said if Eastern Oregon’s 3rd Battalion was called to active duty the facility would lose 41 employees, including 30 people from its security detail.
“In this case it would require everyone to go and it would impact us all at once,” Franke said.
Activation would stretch the facility resources, he said.
“We don’t have the staff to fill those vacancies,” he said.
While there has been no official proclamation about an activation, the citizen-soldiers of the 3rd Battalion have already switched training — from tasks geared toward tank warfare to small unit infantry drills more suited for the kind of mission the U.S. Army faces in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 3rd Battalion consists of units from The Dalles, Hermistion, Pendleton, La Grande, Baker City and Ontario. The 3rd Battalion is one of three major combat elements of the 116th Cavalry Brigade. The 116th Cavalry Brigade has its headquarters in Boise. Along with Oregon, the 116th Brigade consists of units from Montana, Idaho, and Utah.
SRCI, Franke said, will try to fill the vacancies with temporary employees.
“We’ve been recruiting hard. We’ve had a lot of people sign up. They’ll be temporary help to backfill spots. We still have to run this operation,” Franke said.
Franke said Guardsmen who are deployed would have their jobs back when they return.
“Those are still those folk’s positions. But we would be allowed to backfill them temporarily,” he said.
Temporary, though, could mean up to 22 months, depending upon the kind of mission the 3rd Battalion would perform while it is on active duty. While Franke was quick to point out there is no public safety issue regarding the loss of employees, he also did not downplay the of a mobilization to the employee structure at SRCI.
“That many people at one time will defiantly have an impact,” he said.
Still, SRCI would probably have time to meet the sudden loss of key personnel. Franke said there would be a lag time between the time SRCI citizen-soldiers were alerted and when they actually depart for training.
“That gives us time, hopefully, to get some people on line,” he said.
Replacing the deployed Guardsmen will not be easy, he said. For example, Franke said there is an extensive training schedule for a new corrections officer.
“About 11 weeks to get an employee through the required training,” he said.
The good news, so far, for Franke and SRCI is there has been no mobilization order.
“We’re trying to remain optimistic. But we are also planning for the worse case scenario. We’re trying to get ahead of the game. We are trying to look at this in a positive way,” he said.
There is an almost common knowledge among the Guardsmen in Ontario’s citizen-soldier outfit, Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry, that they will be deployed soon.
At the state and federal level, the sense seems to be the Eastern Oregon unit will soon be mobilized as well.
Dallas Boyd, press secretary for Oregon U.S. Congressman Greg Walden said activation for the 3rd Battalion is inevitable.
Oregon District 60 state Sen. Ted Ferrioli said a mobilization of Eastern Oregon’s Guard unit would be a “mixed blessing.”
“They signed up knowing what was in store, but it hurts the local economy,” he said.
A growing Commitment
The number of National Guard and Reservists on active duty has ballooned since the invasion of Iraq last March.
Nearly 40 percent of the American forces in Iraq will be from the National Guard and Reserve after the current troop rotation concludes. Three National Guard combat infantry bridges are also part of the switchout of citizen-soldiers in Iraq. Guard combat units — much like the 116th Cavalry — from North Carolina, Arkansas, and Washington are in the process of deploying to Iraq.
In Washington, more than 3,000 citizen-soldiers of the 81st Armor Brigade represent the highest number of Guardsmen placed on active duty for the state since World War II.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, in Ontario Friday for a Town Hall meeting, said the large-scale mobilization of Guardsmen is really one of resources.
“To me it is a question of are we going to make this extradionary. valuable asset a priority in terms of dollars, adequate pay and equipment or not? If you think they are valuable, which I do, then this is an issue of how important the Guard is. The question is, are you willing to back it? Obviously not, because we do not have the dollars. What I’m trying to convey is this is a matter of choices.” Wyden said.
The Senator said the situation at SRCI is a good example of what can happen when the Guard is not funded properly.
“I think the crunch this community is facing is an example of what happens when politicians don’t back it (the Guard) up with dollars,” Wyden said.
Wyden also conceded the Guard, across the nation, faces unprecedented demands.
“We have a tremendous numbers of courageous people in harms way,” he said.
Mary-Ellen Glynn, communications director for Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said Oregon has already provided a huge share of the Guard forces currently on active duty.
At one point, she said, Oregon had more reserves deployed than any other state.
She also said the governor is concerned regarding the impact a large mobilization would have on rural Oregon.
“The smaller the town, the larger the impact,” she said. Glynn said the governor is concerned with the reservists and Guardsmen being called away quickly and for up to one year.
Argus Observer staff writer Kristen Gribben along with the Associated Press also contributed to this report.
