First wave
Sunday, March 4, 2007 12:08 AM PST
Tami Hart Argus Observer
NAMPA
When Jesse Golden, Midvale, left the Army after 12 years of active duty service, he was hoping his days of overseas deployments were over.
But the Army was in his blood he said, and he couldn’t stay away, so he joined the Idaho National Guard.
Now, Golden faces another deployment, this time to Iraq, with the his fellow citizen-soldiers of the 145th Support Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade (Armor), Idaho Army National Guard.
Monday, 750 Idaho Guardsmen of the 116th Cavalry Brigade’s subordinate units reported for an 8 a.m. muster at armories across the Treasure Valley for their first day of federal active duty service.
Their service, to include the brigade’s mission to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is expected to last approximately 18 months, Idaho National Guard Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Tim Marsano said.
In Nampa and Caldwell, 145th Support Battalion soldiers spent the day tying up administrative loose ends and preparing their families for the 145th’s departure to Fort Bliss, Texas Thursday, according to Maj. Henrick Fast, executive officer for the 145th.
More than 400 soldiers from the support battalion will travel to Texas where they will train and prepare for the Iraq deployment. Fast said the months leading up to the departure have been a flurry of activity for the Guardsmen.
“This is huge. So much hard work has been done by the people in the battalion,” Fast said. “It was a lot of pieces and parts but everybody came together and the plan worked.”
After arriving at Fort Bliss, Fast said the 145th will assume the support mission for the 116th Cavalry Brigade (Armor), which will serve to enhance soldiers’ training. After four months in Texas, soldiers will then travel to Fort Polk, La., for another 30 days training.
Golden, who is a veteran of deployments to Somalia and Bosnia, said his time at Fort Bliss will not be a new experience, but other soldiers might suffer from the heat and being away from their families. It is a relief, Golden said, to actually have the mission underway.
“The waiting and everything is the hardest part,” he said. Fast said morale in the battalion has been good.
“This is an exciting adventure. Soldiers were leaning forward in the foxhole for this mission,” Fast said. “For the most part, everyone has been very enthusiastic.”
Not everyone in the battalion will be taking part in the mission, though, Fast said. More than 150 soldiers will stay behind because of disqualifications ranging from medical problems to family issues. Golden is confident his family has a good support system in place and said the small community of Midvale has also been very supportive. While he is prepared to leave for Iraq, Golden said he does have one disappointment.
“This summer I was supposed to learn all kinds of new cowboy riding tricks. I guess that will just have to wait,” he said.
