Troops get time at home
FORT POLK, La. – The soldiers with Idaho’s 116th Armored Cavalry Brigade will begin trickling into their hometowns this weekend for a 20-day R&R before they’re shipped off to Iraq next month.
Guardsmen originally were scheduled for a two-week leave, but an extension was granted when troops finished training in Louisiana ahead of schedule.
“There was really no reason to justify keeping them from their families any longer,” Idaho National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Marsano said. “We expect the first group will be coming home this weekend.”
A total of 1,600 Idaho guardsmen completed four months of training this week, including two weeks of combat scenario training at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana.
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who toured the facility and met with troops Monday and Tuesday, said the men and women of the Idaho Army National Guard have more than earned a little rest and relaxation.
“It was very special to look into the eyes of these troops,” Kempthorne said. “The camaraderie was incredible. This is an extremely cohesive unit, and I am very proud how they have raised their standards of cavalry. It’s important these troops go home now and be with their families before they leave for Iraq.”
An expert on the military and counterterrorism questioned this week whether the Idaho guardsmen are ready for deployment to Iraq.
But Kempthorne firmly disagreed with the assessment of Rand Lewis, a former Army officer who heads the Martin Institute for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution at the University of Idaho.
Lewis, speaking at a symposium at Boise State University on Wednesday, maintained that despite the intense training at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Polk, the Idaho guardsmen who will be shipped to Iraq late this year are being thrown into an impossible situation.
“These are civilians,” he said. “They’re doing the very best they can, and they’re sharp people. But combat isn’t easy. Even though they have a heart of gold, we’re going to have funerals in this state.”
Kempthorne did not downplay the difficulties that will face the troops, but he said they have the resources that will “give them every element in their favor.”
Soldiers will return to the Intermediate Staging Base in Louisiana when their leaves are finished, to re-acclimate themselves to military life.
“They won’t be doing any more training. This is just a convenient place to make the final preparations before they leave for Kuwait and Iraq,” Marsano said.
Military officials expect deployment of the entire 116th Brigade Combat Team, which includes units from Idaho, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Hawaii and other states, will take place sometime toward the end of November.
Kempthorne said it has been a sobering task overseeing the largest deployment of National Guardsmen in the state’s history.
He noted that just last year he was attending funerals of Idaho soldiers who died in Iraq.
“It is not a perfect world,” he said. “All I can do is believe and pray they will all come home safely. Their training has given them much greater opportunities for success. They know how to watch out for each other.”