Idaho Guardsmen sent home for medical reasons

BOISE — After weeks of training in Fort Bliss, Texas, the Army plans to return 95 Idaho National Guard soldiers to their home bases next week, primarily for medical reasons.

Army spokesman Maj. Marshall Gordon, who is training with the federalized Idaho troops in Fort Bliss, Texas, said some of the soldiers being returned from active duty have physical problems related to weight, such as diabetes, cardiac problems and sleep apnea.

However, none of the Idaho soldiers were being sent home for failing to meet Army weight standards, Idaho National Guard Lt. Col. Tim Marsano said.

Marsano said the returning soldiers have medical issues, some of which are temporary, that would not allow them to perform in a combat environment, Marsano said Thursday.

The returning soldiers include three officers and 92 enlisted personnel, Gordon said. They will return to Idaho individually on commercial aircraft and should all be back by Monday.

Marsano said he expects several dozen Idaho soldiers will rejoin the 116th Brigade Combat Team later this summer after they overcome whatever temporary medical issue caused them to be returned.

“We would like to emphasize that we have been told by the Army that our REFRAD (Returned from Active Duty) percentages for Idaho Citizen Soldiers are significantly less than other states’ National Guard units that have undergone this same situation,” Marsano said in an e-mail to the Associated Press.

“We worked hard to prepare our men and women for the training they’re undergoing in Texas, and would not have sent them to Texas if we thought they were not going to pass muster there.”

Approximately 2,000 part-time members of the Idaho National Guard’s 116th Cavalry Brigade were called up earlier this year to prepare for deployment in Iraq. They shipped out in June and earlier this month for several months of training at the Texas camp.

It was during those more intensive field exercises that physical issues became more evident, Gordon said.

“It’s easy to do. Sometimes you get down here and it brings out a medical condition,” he said. “For example, the heat, stress and extra equipment being carried can induce a back problem.”

Marsano said the soldiers returning to Idaho will be individually evaluated for their ability to remain in the National Guard, whose physical standards are the same as the regular Army.

Those with serious and irreversible medical problems may be discharged. Others could be reassigned to noncombat positions, he said.

The vacancies created in the 116th will be filled either by substitute Idaho Guard troops or, if needed, from other reserve units around the country, Gordon said.