Guardsmen depart for Iraq training

NAMPA, Idaho – Soldiers and families of the Idaho National Guard gathered for a somber farewell on Wednesday as the first wave of the 116th Cavalry Brigade prepares to embark on 18 months of service in the war in Iraq.

About 715 officers and enlisted personnel lined up in formation on the floor of the Nampa Center to hear remarks from Gov. Dirk Kempthorne; their military commander, Adjutant General Jack Kane; and their field commander, Brig. Gen. Alan Gayhart.

The troops, dressed in olive camouflage battle fatigues and black berets, stood solemnly as a snare drum rattled out a military beat and a color guard posted the American flag. The gray overhead lights matched the subdued mood.

The ceremony lasted about an hour. The speakers all referred to the Bush administration’s effort to tackle terrorism on foreign soil before it strikes again in the United States.

Kempthorne concluded with a spirited oration, telling the soldiers, “There are those on this Earth whose only design is intent on evil and destruction and death,” he said.

The ceremony was not publicly announced for security reasons, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Marsano said. Uniformed personnel searched bags and briefcases of civilians before they could enter the arena.

Community leaders from Nampa to Mountain Home joined Kempthorne on the bare stage, and Kane pointedly referred to the absence of Boise Mayor Dave Bieter.

“Every community in the Boise Valley is represented by their mayor, except one,” Kane told the crowd of about 2,500 military personnel and civilians.

Mayoral spokesman Michael Zuzel said Bieter was invited a few days before, but that he had previously committed to a simultaneous dedication of an affordable housing project in Boise.

Zuzel added that Bieter had scheduled his own time to meet with the troops on Thursday.

The Guard members leaving throughout the day would serve as an advance team and will spend the next month ensuring proper training facilities are set up at Fort Bliss, Texas, Marsano said. Another wave of about 1,250 soldiers will muster later this month, and arrive in Texas for training in early July. They will be joined by units from six other states and will move to Iraq as a unit sometime in the fall.

Spc. Steven Layne has served in the unit’s military police force for the past 2 1/2 years and and scheduled to leave for Fort Bliss on Thursday. His wife and infant son attended Wednesday’s ceremony.

“I’m excited,” Layne said, a bit nervously. “You’ve got to be, if you don’t want to feel miserable and let it bring you down.”

Pamela Layne, his wife, said her husband’s deployment hasn’t really sunk in yet.

“It’s when he’s gone, that’s when it will hit me,” she said.