December 1, 2004 - Top U.S. officer defends treatment of detainees.
Head of Joint Chiefs rejects allegations that Guantanamo captives are
coerced, tortured.
Dismissing charges that tactics used at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, amount to
torture, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended
the military's interrogation policies Tuesday in Indianapolis.
"We certainly don't think it's torture," Myers said, responding to allegations
from the International Committee of the Red Cross about treatment of
detainees at the U.S. naval base.
The U.S. Department of Justice helped set guidelines for the treatment of
detainees, Myers said, and the military followed them at Guantanamo.
"Let's not forget the kind of people we have down there," the nation's top
military officer said at the Indiana Convention Center before speaking to the
Economic Club of Indianapolis about the war on terror. "These are the
people that don't know any moral values."
Many have been held indefinitely since their capture in the Middle East and
Afghanistan. Myers said the threat they pose is real -- at least 12 former
detainees have been killed or captured on the battlefield after their release.
Myers had not yet read a New York Times story about the Red Cross report,
he said. The Times obtained a memo outlining a confidential report sent by
the Red Cross in July to the White House, Pentagon and State Department.
The report was based on a visit to Guantanamo in June by a team of Red
Cross inspectors.
According to Tuesday's Times story, the report charged that psychological
and physical coercion at the base violated international treaties;
interrogators' tactics included humiliating acts, solitary confinement,
temperature extremes and the use of forced positions.
Myers said interrogations and detentions at Guantanamo have been done
properly, "according to all the laws and treaties that we signed up to, and
for basic human decency and human rights."
During a news conference, Myers also said urban combat training at bases
such as Camp Atterbury south of Indianapolis has become more important
in Iraq and other missions.
About 700 Indiana National Guard soldiers currently are training at the base
for missions in Iraq and elsewhere. About 20,000 soldiers from Indiana and
other states have trained at Camp Atterbury since the buildup to war in Iraq
began in early 2003.
Since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Myers said, "we've used about
half of the Guard and reserves. The well is not bottomless. There is a finite
number that we can use. We've got to be innovative in the way we put units
together and perhaps retrain some units out of their normal specialties into
the kind of specialties we need out on the battlefield."
Next year, the Pentagon plans its first round of base closings in 10 years.
Myers offered no details on whether Indiana would be affected, but he said
all factors would be considered, including economic effects.
Myers also addressed current events in Iraq. Coalition forces have adapted
to changing conditions, he said, and he applauded the Fallujah operation for
driving insurgents out of that area.
Casualties from that battle and violence elsewhere brought November's
death toll to 135, matching the deadliest month for U.S. troops since the
Iraq war began.
Later, in his talk to the economic group, Myers said the war on terror has
had successes -- the largest being October's election in Afghanistan, in
which 8.1 million votes were cast.
Iraqis soon will gear up for their elections, but challenges there remain, he
said.
"It's going to be tough getting there," he said. "There are people who don't
want it to happen." (Jon Murray, indystar.com)
December 03, 2004 - County officer called to Guard duty in Iraq
Montgomery County Police Officer Ken Maynor bade coworkers farewell
Thursday.
Maynor has been called to the Army National Guard in Iraq. He’ll be a
member of the Headquarters Service Battery 3rd 139th Field Artillery,
attached to the 113th Engineering Battalion.
The call took Maynor and his wife, Debra, by surprise Wednesday. He leaves
for Camp Atterbury Dec. 13 and may get a three-day leave for Christmas.
Ken does not know what his duty will be in Iraq.
Debra and their four sons, ages 8, 5, 3, and 16 months, will remain at
Crawfordsville where she will continue work as the St. Bernard’s School
secretary. “It’s a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, but we’re getting there,”
she said. “I’ve got business to take care of here and he’s got business to
take care of over there.”
Debra is an Australian native and far from her parents. But Ken’s parents,
John and Barbara Maynor, will care for the younger boys during the day.
The community responded to the news with overwhelming support, Debra
said, adding, “We’ve really been blessed.” (By Maria J. Flora, Journal
Review, Crawfordsville, IN)
December 03. 2004 - The agony (of waiting) and the
ecstasy (of arrival).
INDIANAPOLIS - The tension had been building all
afternoon. Two planes full of soldiers had been
scheduled to arrive at 6:50 and 11:50 p.m. Thursday.
But the call went out that the planes would actually be
early; the first one at 5:15 - maybe.
Oh, and then the soldiers had to clear customs and catch
a bus to the Division Armory. How long does that take?
An hour or so, maybe. Waiting wears on one's soul - and
patience. So the tension continued to mount as the clock
ticked off the seconds.
Then the announcement came: The first plane landed at
6:10 p.m. The applause was heartfelt. And then you
could see all of the clock watchers move towards a large
overhead door; others peeking out of a small side door.
At 7:15, the kids with their signs were hoisted onto older
people's shoulders. And then the door raised slower than
in a Hitchcock movie.
The applause was unbelievable.
The soldiers marched sharply inside and were dismissed,
and formalities went out that big door.
Jaima Estep
gives her fiance,
1st Lt. Andy
Shellabarger, a
big kiss Thursday
after the first
planeload of
troops made it
into the 38th
Infantry Division
Headquarters
Armory in
Indianapolis. The
couple and his
children Colton,
7, and Kassie,
11, live in
Daleville.
Kurt Hostetler /
The Star Press
Soldiers and families melded into one giant mass of humanity.
"It's great to be home," said Capt. Jeremy Gulley. "I couldn't be happier."
Gulley will finally get to sleep in the new house the family was building
when he was called up. The dean of students at the Jay County High School
expects to be back on that job Dec. 20. "It feels pretty good to be home,"
said Lt. Steve Breckeridge, Muncie. "I'm hungry for a good steak." He'll
have to eat it in a hurry. The man heads for Afghanistan in two weeks. "I
don't know how long I'll be gone," he said.
"I can't explain what it means to be home with the ones you love," said Lt.
Andy Shellabarger, Daleville. "This is the happiest day of my life." He has a
couple of things to take care of before he goes back to work. "I'm getting
married and going on a honeymoon." His fiancee, Jaima, "has waited a long
time for this night. It's a dream come true."
The returning soldiers each received a six-day pass. They report to Camp
Atterbury in southern Indiana on Dec. 8. for a week of debriefing. Some
other members of the Indiana unit will remain in Bosnia until June. A few
will be reporting for duty in Afghanistan, and the others will return to
civilian life, at least until their country calls again. (RIC ROUTLEDGE, Star
Press)
December 03, 2004 - Mock ambushes, live ammunition. WAR: 113th
Engineers Battalion juggles survival training and missed loved ones at Camp
Atterbury.
1st Sgt. Daniel Ronay stood on a muddy road amid shell casings and tank
tracks. Seconds earlier, a thunderous roadside bomb shot a fireball into the
air.
The seen-it-all military lifer, with hardened face and hands, loosened up his
Army helmet, lit up a Marlboro Red and looked at the bomb's rising smoke.
After exhaling toward overcast skies, the region Marine released seemingly
classified information: He and his wife, a staff sergeant, will celebrate their
20th wedding anniversary in March. In Iraq. Together.
The sweet sentiments filtered out of him like incense from a cigar.
"Iraq," Ronay said, stomping out the butt, "will be my last hurrah."
For most of his fellow soldiers -- the local 113th Engineers Battalion -serving this month in Operation Iraqi Freedom will be their first hurrah.
They're training like it at Camp Atterbury, 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
Geographically, the enormous camp is roughly the size of Gary, with more
than 5,000 resident soldiers training for overseas deployment.
By year's end, more than 20,000 National Guard troops will be deployed
from the camp, which houses its own chapel, airfield and endless rows of
barracks.
The typical overseas role of the 113th is to "build things up and blow things
up," said Capt. John Pitt, of Porter, who's 100 percent behind Uncle Sam in
Iraq.
As peacekeepers there, the battalion will manage construction sites and
provide convoy support, he said.
Hurry up ... and wait
At remote Range 37, Alpha Company soldiers waited near a rolling 3-mile
loop of mock villages and ambush attacks, similar to what they may see in
Iraq.
Sitting on a grassy hill, M-4 machine guns to their side, they ate lunch from
clear plastic "bag o' meals" -- cold sandwiches, Pringles, Milky Ways and
fruit. It's the modern day MRE, or meal ready to eat.
To burn away the minutes until their live run, the men talked about
everything under the hidden sun -- car engines, strip clubs and pizza
toppings, in both southern drawl and urban speak.
One soldier proudly showed a photo of his newborn baby. Another dreamt
out loud: "When I get back from Iraq ..."
Up along the entry road, Capt. Andy Kovats leaned on a Humvee, quietly
reflecting on his wife and daughters back in Hobart. The 39-year-old U.S.
Postal Service Inspector said his wife is the family's hero, not him.
An officer then barked out orders, and Kovats, 21 years now in the Guard,
yelled "Roger that, sir," leaving his warm memories in the cool air. The
enemy waited.
Enemy 'attacks'
A dozen 113th soldiers in Humvees and armored personnel carriers rumbled
through the 3-mile loop.
The convoy drove 30 mph past automated pop-up targets and hostile
insurgents with balloons pinned at heart-level. The vehicles use flashing
turn signals to warn of enemy fire from the left or right.
Officers barked out "muzzle awareness!" reminding soldiers to know which
way their guns are aimed while not shooting.
To the right, an "attack" triggered return live fire -- pop! pop! pop! -- from
the soldier's machine guns. A 50-caliber gun shot loud holes in the southern
Indiana silence.
At one village, trash cans blocked the road. The convoy came to a halt.
Soldiers dismounted, aiming their weapons at imaginary enemies. Without
warning a thunderous BOOM! jolted the air, causing a fireball along the
roadside.
The soldiers scrambled for cover, pulling a "wounded" comrade aboard a
vehicle. Two soldiers kicked down the trash cans, and the convoy raced on,
four-way flashers signaling a casualty.
Roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices have caused nearly onethird of all deaths to Indiana military personnel in Iraq. Updated military
intelligence is constantly used here to modify training, techniques and
soldier survival skills.
"We need soldiers to put on their game face," Pitt said.
Mission or the man
At a different camp post, five Company Headquarters soldiers dismounted
from an armored M1025 Humvee, dubbed "WARPIG," under a simulated
ambush attack.
"Contact right!" a soldier yelled, warning that enemy gunfire is coming from
the right. "Aggressive posture!"
Military intelligence from Iraq shows the less aggressive a U.S. convoy
appears, the more it gets attacked from insurgents, who prefer to attack
"easy pickings."
Within five seconds, Spc. Ivan McIntosh and Spc. Steven Brumfield, both of
Gary, emptied out of the Humvee in synchronized precision, each with a
choreographed attack stance and their M-4s aimed.
Their first thought: The three D's -- distance, direction and (enemy)
description.
The vehicle's turret gunner on top is treated like a quarterback on a football
team. When his heavy-gun, grenade launcher position goes down, the team
often goes down.
McIntosh and Brumfield trained as if the gunner was hit. Their mission:
Remove him -- wounded or dead -- and keep the weapon firing.
"It's either the mission or the man," one soldier said. "Most times, the
mission is more important."
Dirty good-for-everything F.O.B.
Before leaving for deployment, region soldiers train at the camp's Forward
Operating Base, or F.O.B., a mock Army base that simulates the size, design
and living conditions of bases in Iraq.
Surrounded by concertina wire and sand bags, the 25-acre base houses dirt
roads, guard towers, ammunition bunkers and key entry points designed
against an attack. There are even mock armed enemies planted in a nearby
field.
The base, where hundreds of soldiers train at a time, was built a few weeks
ago with updated intelligence from Iraq.
Like with all camp maneuvers, soldiers here prepare under a "crawl, walk,
run" mentality, first training without any ammunition before using blanks
and then live ammo.
Only then do they fully understand the dull hours of classroom teachings
beforehand, said Battalion Cmdr. Lt. Col. Richard Shatto.
"They're learning how to survive here," he said.
Crowded barracks, soldier sardines
Most guardsmen here earn about $1,200 every two weeks in take-home
pay, yet they won't be taking it home in person for at least another year.
One crowded barrack houses 100 Bravo Company soldier sardines, most on
double bunk beds with no privacy. Littered with duffel bags, personal items
and camouflaged everything, it looks like a grenade hit it.
Tucked away is a city of Valparaiso flag to be hoisted soon in Iraq.
On Mondays, there is a Wal-Mart run. On Sundays, a chapel run. A sign over
a phone reads, "15 Minutes" per call. On camp property, finding a cell phone
reception is a mission in itself.
Spc. Ryan Ayres, of Portage, sat quietly on his top bunk penning a letter to
his fiancee, oblivious to Guns N' Roses on a boombox and the sound of
weapons being dismantled and cleaned.
Soldiers wake at 5:30 a.m., train most of the day and call lights out at 2300
hours, 11 p.m. Popular night-time perks include a small microwave oven
and a handful of laptops to watch "computer cinema."
"We walk around and see which movie is better," one soldier said.
Care packages from loved ones are the best perk, said Company Cmdr. Jose
Cuadra: "They're more popular than e-mails or phone calls. We can touch
them." (JERRY DAVICH, This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday,
December 2, 2004 12:27 AM CST)
December 05, 2004 - National Guard's 939th Military Police Detachment
Leaving for Iraq
Saying good-bye is tough, but that's what some
members of the Indiana National Guard are
preparing to do.
They're bound for Iraq, but before they leave, the
guard treated their families to a special night
Saturday. "My guys are like, you know, we gotta
say good-bye one more time!" said one soldier.
(WISH-TV)
It was family night for members of the Indiana
National Guard's 939th Military Police Detachment
at Camp Atterbury. 45 members will soon be
leaving for Iraq.
Sgt. First Class John Forbes with the Indiana
National Guard says, "She kind of understands that
dad's gonna be away for about a year!"
SFC. Forbes has been trying to explain it to young
daughter Sara, something wife Jennifer is still
grappling with. "What a lot of the general public doesn't understand is the
dedication these guys have! In that when they are called, yes, it's terrible,
but they just really have a lot of pride and it's just their duty and honor!"
says Jennifer.
But here, they were being honored. Honored for the mission ahead. Sgt.
First Class Kerry Buckner is saying good-bye to his family too. When asked
what was going through his mind at the dinner SFC. Buckner replied, "Oh,
just a lot of uncertainties and wondering what's actually gonna happen
because the violence is getting so much worse everyday! Just kind of an
uneasiness of the unknown!"
Buckner has a wife and a kid with another on the way. They're all
concerned, including his mom. "I think as much as anything, I'm just afraid
for him, but I know that there's a lot of guys who are over there! They'll do
fine and I'm looking for him to come back home!" says Royce Bruckner.
Major Deedra Thombleson is saying good-bye to her little ones. Her husband
just got back from Iraq. Thombleson says, "My five year old understands it
because my husband was gone, so he understands mommy is going to Iraq!
My two year old doesn't understand! She obviously doesn't understand! So,
it is tough on the kids!"
The guard can't say exactly when the unit is leaving, but it will be soon.
They'll function as a police department somewhere in Iraq. They'll conduct
investigations and inspections among others things during their year-long
tour of duty. (WISH-TV, Indianapolis)
December 07, 2004 - Guard unit called to active duty. Company based in
Anderson to train at camp in Mississippi.
A new company of Indiana Army National Guard soldiers has been called to
active service, officials announced Monday, one week after most of another
Hoosier Guard outfit returned home from duty overseas.
The mobilization taps A Company, 138th Signal Battalion. The unit,
headquartered in Anderson, Ind., is being ordered to report to Camp Shelby
in Mississippi in January. The camp, near Hattiesburg, is the only other fullscale mobilization center run by the National Guard besides Camp Atterbury
in Indiana.
Guard officials declined to say why the unit was being sent for training out
of state, citing security concerns.
The company is part of the Army's Signal Corps, which handles military
communications. They had been informed last month that they were on
alert, a move that usually leads to an active duty callup, said Capt. Lisa
Kopczynski, state public affairs officer for the Guard.
The company's parent battalion has more than 400 soldiers, but Guard
officials would not disclose exactly how many troops are being called up.
According to the Pentagon, they will join more than 5,500 Indiana Guard
and reserve troops from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines now on
active duty. That figure means the state continues to have a record number
of reservists called up since the attacks of Sept. 11. (By Kevin O'Neal,
Indystar.com)
December 8, 2004 - Local Marion, Ohio National Guard unit returning.
Members of Marion’s unit of the Ohio National Guard will be home for the
holidays. About 450 members of the Ohio National Guard’s 1-134th Field
Artillery Battalion, including 75 from A Battery of Marion, will return home
Wednesday from a nine-month deployment guarding U.S. military
installations throughout Europe.
A public ceremony to welcome home the troops will be held 1 p.m.
Wednesday at Harding High School, 1500 Harding Highway E. They will be
arriving in Marion from Camp Atterbury in Indiana, from where they
departed in March.
Brig. Gen. Ron Young, Ohio’s assistant adjutant general for the Army, said
the Ohio National Guard currently has about 3,400 members mobilized for
the Global War on terror.
“The soldiers of the 1-134th have performed their duties defending against
and deterring potential security threats to U.S. military bases in Europe with
honor and distinction,” he said in a press release. “We recognize that they
and their families made significant sacrifices while they were away from
home. We appreciate the enduring support which our communities have
shown for our citizen soldiers and their families.” (Marion Star, Marion, OH)
December 09, 2004 - Small Base Now Big Asset to Military, Local
Communities
By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA, American Forces Press Service
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind., Dec. 9, 2004 -- For more than 50 years, the only life
here was on weekends and for two weeks in the summer. Now, you actually
have to keep a watchful eye for marching troops and military convoys at the
four-way stop entering the camp.
The 76th Infantry Brigade, Indiana National Guard,
is honored at a departure ceremony at the Veterans'
Memorial at Camp Atterbury, Ind., in August. The
brigade is currently supporting the training of the
Afghan National Army at Camp Phoenix near Kabul,
Afghanistan. The crests at the memorial represent
the major commands that have trained and deployed
from Camp Atterbury since the Joint Maneuver
Training Center was founded in 1942. Photo by Sgt.
Les Newport, USA
(Click photo for screen-resolution image); highresolution image available.
For the first time
since the Korean
War, Camp Atterbury,
a National Guard
training center first
activated June 1942
as a World War II
training facility, has
become an important
military asset. Today,
it prepares
thousands of troops
for deployment in the
war on terror, while
providing millions of
dollars in economic
impact to the state.
Army Col. Kenneth D.
Newlin, who took
command here in
October 2002, said
over the past two
years more than
20,000 Army
National Guard and Army Reserve members have been mobilized here for
duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
That number is expected to remain steady as the Army presses more Guard
and Reserve soldiers into active duty and the Defense Department has
called for more troops in Iraq. Roughly half of the forces serving there now
are Guard and Reserve members.
Newlin said the camp's gymnasium, which serves as the personnel
readiness center, processes an average of 200 soldiers each day. Often, the
center operated seven days a week.
A mix of units comes here: medical, engineer, infantry, armor and even
training. For example, recently the 98th Division (Institutional Training) out
of New York, a unit that consists mostly of drill sergeants, deployed to help
the 42nd Infantry Division train the Iraqi army.
The camp's 64 beige concrete barracks house about 4,500 soldiers from
more than 39 Guard and Reserve units from across the country, part of the
third rotation of troops bound for Iraq. They will spend six to eight weeks in
training, learning to avoid convoy ambushes and how to identify unexploded
ordnance, two of the most serious dangers they will face in duty.
Newlin said the training here is based on the 40 Warrior Tasks directed by
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker. All soldiers, regardless of
specialty, must be proficient in the tasks, which include rifle and survival
skills.
Besides those tasks, there are individual and collective training events in
which soldiers are put in a forward operating base laid out exactly as they
would see in Iraq. The idea is for soldiers to "see, smell and train" in the
environment they would experience in Iraq, he said.
Iraqi nationals are brought in to be role players and play the role of
insurgents to make the scenario more realistic. The FOB is attacked with
mortar fire, and vehicle convoys are hit with improvised explosive devices.
During one part of the training, a convoy travels through a village. There, it
is stopped, and plastic explosives are set off to simulate an IED. The sound
of the blast "literally rocks their world," Newlin said.
"This is not just a little 'pop and drop simulator,'" he said. "The fireball cuts
through the air, the black smoke billows out, and the concussion hits you in
the face. Talk about shock effect; they know they just got blown up."
The soldiers are trained to fend off such an attack. At the convoy live-fire
range, soldiers must engage targets on both sides of the vehicle, using
whatever individual or crew-served weapon systems are available, from M4, M- 249, to Mark 19 and .50-caliber weapons systems.
The training is based on lessons learned from Guard and Reserve units now
in Iraq, Newlin said. Some training, however, is refresher courses for tasks
learned in basic training, such as first aid and radio communications. Other
training, such as rappelling, is designed to build the soldiers' confidence,
Newlin explained.
Farewell ceremonies have become an almost weekly ritual here, and Camp
Atterbury leaders treat each as a family affair. That's because many of the
Guard and Reserve members departing are soldiers they have served with.
"It tough here," Newlin said. "About everyone I've known has deployed
somewhere in some fashion or capacity.
"I'm proud to be training and mobilizing them," he continued, "because I
truly look at every one of these soldiers as a brother and a friend. And in
many cases, most of them are."
Newlin said the 113th Engineer Battalion, 38th Infantry Division, Indiana
Army National Guard, is currently training at the camp mobilizing for duty in
Iraq. It is the unit where he learned to lead soldiers as a noncommissioned
officer, and he commanded until just two years ago.
While the units here await marching orders, soldiers spend off-duty time at
the few facilities and activities the camp offers -- a shoppette, a physical
fitness center, an "All Ranks" club, a laundry, a barbershop and a movie
theater. Newlin said that though Camp Atterbury is small in size aspirations
here are big. Since the war on terror began, the installation has become a
viable asset to the military.
In February 2002, the Army mobilized Camp Atterbury, the first National
Guard mobilization station to be called into service. As a Forces Command
Power Support Platform, Camp Atterbury serves as a mobilization and
training site for Guard and Reserve troops preparing for the war on terror.
That same year, the camp was re-designated by the National Guard Bureau
as a Joint Maneuver Training Center, making Camp Atterbury the premier
training center in the state.
Newlin said that by becoming a joint training center, Camp Atterbury has
fallen in line with the Chief of National Guard Bureau's vision of conducting
more joint operations. He said the ability of the camp to "train all
components of the services here, and a number of them in joint roles, is
part of our ability to adapt and remain viable."
In fact, Guard and Reserve personnel from all services use the camp's
training ranges. And Air National Guard units from Indiana and neighboring
Kentucky use it to fly sorties overhead and to practice equipment drops
from C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. Local state and federal law
enforcement authorities use the live-fire ranges to hone their rifle skills.
The Army decision to activate the camp also has meant more military
construction dollars for renovations and other quality-of-life improvements.
The camp's first commercial franchise, a Subway sandwich shop is set to
open next week. It will be the first such franchise on a National Guard base.
Construction has also begun on an $8 million battle simulation center that
will enhance training, Newlin said. But what may make Camp Atterbury the
NTC of the National Guard is the acquisition of the Muscatatuck State
Developmental Center. The sprawling facility, once used to treat people with
disabilities, is less than 45 miles east of the camp, and is closing soon. It
would cost the state upwards of $40 million to destroy the facility and
restore it for agricultural use.
However, Newlin said, Indiana National Guard leaders are hopeful that the
ultimate urban warfare-training center could be created there and have put
a proposal before the state legislature to do so.
"This would be 10 times the size of any CACTF that's out there," he said.
"And it's going to allow us to replicate a more realistic environment for
urban training. Instead of having a bunch of cookie-cutter buildings, all
made of the same type of materials or facades of materials, you're actually
going into a living, breathing city that is self-sustaining."
The residential facility has nearly 1,000 acres of land and some 70
buildings, including a five-story hospital, a minimum-security prison, a
school, housing, administrative buildings and its own power station and
water treatment plant. A kitchen facility there is capable of serving 4,500
meals three times a day.
Another advantage is the area's large buffer zones, Newlin said -- nearly
1,900 acres to the north and 800 acres to the south of agricultural and
forest lands would clear the facility of encroachment. It also has 3,000 feet
of underground tunnels, Newlin said, interconnecting the various buildings.
The resurgence of Camp Atterbury and its plans for expansion don't seem to
bother the roughly 4,500 residents in the small farming town of Edinburgh
where the camp is located. The yellow ribbons on car bumpers and rear
windows indicate that many of the people here support the troops.
The local theater gives discounts "all evening, all shows" to those with
military ID. And the case of popcorn that sits by Newlin's office door was
donated by the local Boy Scouts for the troops, he explained.
Then there is the self-described "Little Old Popcorn Lady." Her business,
"Popcorn and More" sells the treat in 100 flavors. Newlin said she ensures
that every soldier arriving here gets a bag of the caramel-flavored treat
along with a welcome note.
Newlin said he believes the community's appreciation for Camp Atterbury
comes in part from the huge economic impact it has on the local community.
During fiscal 2003 Camp Atterbury provided more than $78 million to the
local community with everything from laundry services to the local
seamstress who is kept busy sewing patches and American flags on military
uniforms.
"This is truly one of the largest businesses in southern Indiana," Newlin
said. The manager of a local pizza-delivery business called to personally
thank Newlin, saying that his business increased so much he had to buy a
second oven -- which means the pizza delivery traffic here will double.
That's something else to watch out for at the camp's main intersection.
(Army Sgt. Les Newport, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs Office, contributed
to this report.)
Related Site:
Camp Atterbury, Ind.
Historic Camp Atterbury
Sgt. 1st Class Mary Turner of the 826th Personnel Services
Detachment, Installation Support Unit, at Camp Atterbury, Ind.,
helps a soldier outprocess after returning from duty in England.
Turner is among 600 soldiers assigned to the ISU, a unit that
assists with the mobilization and demobilization, as well as
training thousands of Guard and Reserve members at the
installation. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA
High resolution photo
Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Brigade, Indiana
National Guard, react to a chemical attack as part of the serious
incident response team training at Camp Atterbury, Ind. The
soldiers trained and deployed from the camp in support of Iraqi
Freedom I in 2003. They returned from active duty and three
months later were designated as Indiana's serious incident
response team, a reaction force responsible for supporting
homeland defense in time of crisis. Photo by Sgt. Les Newport,
USA
High resolution photo
Soldiers of the Army Reserve's 98th Division (Institutional
Training), Rochester, N.Y., respond to a mortar attack at Camp
Atterbury, Ind. The 98th Division is currently deployed, training
the Iraqi army at Camp Anaconda near Baghdad, Iraq. Photo by
Sgt. Les Newport, USA
High resolution photo
December 10, 2004 - Iraq-bound Hoosier soldiers bid farewell
Six-year-old Abigail Hines recited the prayer with her mother to try to stop
the tears.
Her dad, Maj. Steve Hines, who grew up in Muncie, will leave for Iraq
sometime before Christmas. He'll be gone for at least a year.
"My Daddy is helping to keep our land free," Susan Hines said, reciting the
poem that is embroidered on a pillow Abigail shares with her twin sister,
Kelly. "God bless him, and bring him home safely to me." Abigail buried her
head in her mother's hug. "I know you don't want Daddy to go, honey,"
Susan Hines said. "I know. It will be OK."
Maj. Hines and about 600 Indiana National Guardsmen stood at attention
Thursday morning at Camp Atterbury to bid Indiana a formal farewell. Most
soldiers will depart for Iraq within the next few weeks. Thursday's
ceremony was just one part of the deployment drama that unfolds daily at
Atterbury, a major military training camp south of Indianapolis.
Wearing fresh desert camouflage uniforms, the citizen-soldiers stood stoic
and silent before a crowd of about 300 family members and friends, who
came from across Indiana to give a ceremonial good-bye. "Face the fears
ahead," said Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, Adjutant General for the State of
Indiana, who addressed soldiers Thursday morning. He implored them to
remember key values such as loyalty, respect and courage during the
mission overseas, urging them to "always do what is right." "There will be
dangers and adversities," he said. "You are the best of the best. You are
ready and I know you will serve us well."
Most departing soldiers, including Hines, will have a chance to spend at
least a weekend at home with their families before being deployed.
"I think the general consensus is that having to go through the good-byes
over and over again is rough," said Tammy Shatto, Columbus, whose
husband, Lt. Col. Richard Shatto commands the 113th Engineer Battalion.
About 440 of the soldiers who gathered Thursday are members of the Garybased 113th. "It's been a roller coaster," Shatto said.
Meanwhile, in a nearby building Thursday, about 200 fellow Guardsmen,
dressed in well-worn Army greens, gathered in a casual assembly for about
eight hours of eye-glazing briefings.
The soldiers, a number of whom are from the Marion and Muncie areas,
returned home from Bosnia last week after a year-long deployment. The
five-day demobilization process is designed to help them readjust to civilian
life.
"Our idea is to get you back into blue jeans and golf shirts - physically,
mentally and emotionally," said Rod Merrell, a disabled veteran who emcees
Atterbury's demobilization procedures.
Since February 2003, about 6,700 soldiers have returned to demobilize at
Camp Atterbury, according to the camp's public affairs office. During the
same time period, about 16,600 Guard and Reserve soldiers have shipped
out.
A member of the 113th Engineering Battalion, Maj. Hines, 38, said he is
"apprehensive" about going to Iraq. But he is ready to do his part.
Also departing in the next few weeks are about 130 members of the 1438th
Transportation Co., and about 80 members of the 938th and 939th Military
Police Detachment, public affairs officials at Camp Atterbury said.
Soldiers just home from Bosnia won't have to worry about a redeployment
for at least 12 months, said Gen. Timothy Wright, who commanded Task
Force Eagle in Bosnia. He stood in line for lunch Thursday during a break
from marathon briefings.
"We've lived together for a year," said Wright, 57, adding that soldiers slog
through demobilization in good spirits knowing they're just a few days from
going home for good. "We all know each other. We're like a family."
(KRISTIN HARTY, Star Press, Marion IN)
December 10, 2004 - Engineer Unit Makes Sure New Soldiers Feel At Home
When Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Smith was asked by a visitor if he could
send for a couple of soldiers from the 844th Engineer (Combat Heavy)
Battalion to talk about their pending deployment to Iraq, the entire Charlie
Company knocked on his door.
It was if they all had
something they
wanted to say about
this unit. And the
interview quickly
moved from the
sergeant major's tiny
office here to a
nearby dining facility.
"This group here is
my extended family,"
Smith said while
introducing the
soldiers. "We are all
family in this room."
If that is the case,
then Camp Atterbury
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Smith of the 844th is the site for the
Engineer (Combat Heavy) Battalion talks with
annual family
members of Charlie Company during a break in
reunion. And many of
mobilization training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., where the soldiers who
the unit is preparing for possible deployment to Iraq. have come to this
Some 170 soldiers are newcomers to the battalion,
rural Indiana
but say the command has made them feel very much National Guard
a part of the unit. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Doug
Training Center
Sample, USA
awaiting possible
(Click photo for screen- resolution image); highdeployment to Iraq
resolution image available.
are like distant
cousins meeting for
the first time: The 844th is made up of nearly 200 soldiers who came from
other units.
Most of the soldiers in Charlie Company never knew each other or trained
together before arriving here just seven weeks ago. But you wouldn't know
it from talking to its members.
Despite being together for such a short time, 844th leaders here have built
a family that has bonded like no other. Like many Guard and Reserve units
suffering personnel shortages, Lt. Col. Donato Dinello, the 844th
commander, said his unit had to be pieced together with soldiers from other
units. It's a practice the Reserve calls "cross-leveling," in which soldiers are
borrowed from other units to fill vacancies. Other voids are filled with
Individual Ready Reserve members, discharged soldiers called back on
active duty.
To maintain cohesion and to ensure that new soldiers felt part of the unit,
Dinello said the plan was to get cross-level soldiers "rapidly assimilated"
into the unit. "My exact comments were, 'Bring them in here, treat them
like they've always been here, and get them accustomed to our way of
doing things,'" he said.
Dinello said bringing in "cross-levels" and IRR soldiers to help meet
readiness levels is not a common practice in the reserves during peacetime,
but that "it's quite common during times of war. The priority is to fill the
unit deploying ahead of you."
That explains the personnel shortages in the 844th. The practice of
swapping out soldiers hit the Knoxville, Tenn.-based unit hard as it prepared
to take part in the third rotation of troops to Iraq. Dinello said that when
the 844th got orders to mobilize, it was without nearly 170 of its soldiers
and some of its best leaders. Many of those leaders already had deployed to
Iraq or had just returned after filling vacancies in other Reserve units
during the first two rotations of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Knowing he would need those veterans to carry the unit on its current
mission, Dinello personally asked many of those who had returned after
serving as many as 14 months of duty to go back again, this time with their
own unit. "I just asked them one by one, and I told them, 'Hey, I need you
to go back with me,' Dinello said soberly. "And each and every one of them
said, 'Yes.'"
It is that kind of dedicated service and devotion that the newcomers to
Charlie Company respect most about serving in this unit. Not only do they
feel they belong here, but they express confidence in the experienced
leadership, which makes them feel more secure about their mission, Dinello
said.
Spc. Moneka Smith, 24, of Decatur Ga., is a cross-level soldier who was
studying to become a registered nurse at Georgia Military Institute when
she got orders to join the 844th. Prior to her arrival here in October, she
received a welcome packet from the 844th that told everything about the
unit, the history and the mission. She said the gesture "really made us feel
like we were part of the family."
"It's always difficult," she said. "Coming into a new unit being a cross-level
soldier, coming to a new place, a new state, and not knowing anyone or
anything about the unit is hard, but I trust my leaders. You always have
that fear, especially when you know that there are terrorists out there.
However, I feel very confident, because we have a lot of experienced
leaders who have been in combat before, and that helps relieve most of the
fear that I have about this mission. I know they are going to take care of
us."
Added Sgt. Ryan Hartley, 26, an individual ready reservist from Rochester,
N.Y., who is back on active duty after a one-year hiatus: "Having so many
soldiers who have never trained together, and to come together like we
have, it is definitely amazing. I would definitely, without a question, follow
this unit into battle."
It is that family-like togetherness that Smith feels will sustain this unit in
what may be it toughest mission yet. "We must take care of each other like
family. If we don't, then we will falter," he said. "From squad leader, to
platoon sergeant, to the first sergeant and commander, we take care of
each other. It's like being a father, and this is my family. You want the best
for them." (By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA American Forces Press
Service )
December 11, 2004 - Army closes armor gap - Guard troops, vehicles to get
plates before entering Iraq
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP - All Pennsylvania National Guard troops and their
vehicles will have armor before they enter Iraq, Army officials said
yesterday.
Also yesterday, the Army official who helps run the program that provides
armor for Humvees said that every Humvee requiring armor in the combat
zone will have it within 90 days. The only unarmored Humvees will be in
protected bases.
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And the Army entered negotiations with an armor manufacturer yesterday
in an effort to accelerate production of armored versions of the Humvee to
get them to the troops faster, Army and company officials said.
The issue arose on Wednesday when Army Reserve Spc. Thomas Wilson, 31,
of Nashville, Tenn., questioned Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
during a question-and-answer session in Kuwait about why some U.S.
troops lacked adequate safety equipment. Wilson told Rumsfeld that some
soldiers must pick through dumps looking for pieces of bullet-proof glass
and armor plate to protect their Humvees.
Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey spoke with officials at Armor Holdings
Inc., based in Jacksonville, Fla., who told him yesterday they could increase
production by up to 100 vehicles a month. The company is producing 450
armored Humvees a month.
Army officials had previously believed the factory was working at capacity
until the company told the news media Thursday that it was willing to boost
production. Democrats immediately criticized the Bush administration for
not boosting production sooner.
Company officials said the Armor Holdings plant was not immediately
capable of boosting output. Armor Holdings said in a statement yesterday
that it could increase its rate of production by February or March.
In addition, the Army would also have to go to Congress for additional
funding if Armor Holdings sought more money, officials said. The cost of
armored Humvees is about $150,000 each.
The Army has ordered 8,105 of the armored Humvees, and 5,910 are in
Iraq, Afghanistan and nearby countries.
Of 19,000 Humvees used in Iraq and Afghanistan, 15,000 are armored, the
Pentagon said Wednesday. Of those, about 6,000 have been equipped with
the most up-to-date armor installed at Armor Holdings.
A fully armored Humvee is designed to withstand 8 pounds of explosive
under the engine or 4 pounds of explosive under the crew cab.
But that's no guarantee of safety. If a 155 mm artillery shell is converted
into a roadside bomb, even an armored Bradley or an M1 Abrams tank -both stronger than an armored Humvee -- might not be enough protection.
The military has purchased thousands of kits with bolt-on armor, but
several thousand Humvees, and thousands more heavy trucks, remain
without armor for use against insurgent bombs, guns and rockets.
In an e-mail to Fort Indiantown Gap officials, Lt. Col. Philip J. Logan, the
commander of Task Force Dragoon in Kuwait, said his troops -- many of
them Pennsylvania National Guardsmen -- are getting ready to drive out of
Kuwait into Iraq. "All wheeled vehicles being driven north will have some
form of armor on them," Logan said. He said soldiers under his command
will not be allowed to enter Iraq unless they have been issued body armor.
"No soldier will leave Kuwait without [armor] plates," said Logan, of the 1st
Battalion of the 103rd Armor, Johnstown. "If they don't get them, they don't
leave [Kuwait]. Period."
Col. Harry E. Coulter is preparing to lead 2,400 Pennsylvania National Guard
soldiers into Kuwait for advanced training and then into Iraq in early
summer. He also said every soldier will get body armor. A Pentagon
spokesman went further, saying all U.S. soldiers, no matter what unit, will
have body armor. "I know there's enough [body] armor in theater to take
care of everybody," said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Rodney.
Lt. Col. Gregory Julian of the Atlanta-based Coalition Forces Land
Components Command said there are 10 depots in Kuwait and Iraq where
armor plate is added to the Humvees. "All the vehicles that are being driven
into Iraq are up-armored or have add-on armor," Julian said. If the vehicles
aren't armored, they will be hauled in.
Once inside Iraq, unarmored vehicles could be upgraded with armor or they
could be used in a secure site, a National Guard spokesman said. Sgt. Maj.
Vincent Conti, of Ringtown, Columbia County, spent six months in Iraq and
returned Oct. 30. "When I was there, they were updating the vehicles,"
said Conti, a member of the state National Guard's 55th Brigade, 28th
Infantry Division Mechanized. "They were working on that continuously
while I was in theater."
Conti said some of the Humvees had updated body armor. "Not a lot of
them. They were still updating them as they were coming into country. Kits
that they put on them with the doors, the bullet-proof glass," Conti said.
Workers at Letterkenny Army Depot made 860 armor kits for Humvees from
January through April. Now, Letterkenny workers are making 150 armor
kits to be installed on 5,000-gallon fuel tankers, said Col. William Guinn,
commander of Letterkenny Army Depot. "We're just one of many, many
sites doing it," Guinn said of depots producing armor kits for soldiers.
Guinn said he expects the Army to assign Letterkenny and other depots to
make armor kits for five-ton trucks. About 108 kits will be made at
Letterkenny. Guinn anticipates Letterkenny will get more armor-making
missions after that. Letterkenny's traditional role is repairing air defense
and tactical missile systems.
"The Army was throwing a pretty darn wide net, saying if you have the
capability to cut and bend steel, we want you to start doing that," Guinn
said. Letterkenny workers were turning out roughly 75 armor kits a week
during the Humvee mission. Guinn said the employees signed their name on
a note placed in each kit saying the armor was made by workers at
Letterkenny.
"We got letters back from soldiers in Iraq thanking them. That's a pretty
good motivator," Guinn said, adding that many of the Letterkenny workers
are veterans. Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry, who
continually decried the lack of equipment during his unsuccessful
presidential campaign, yesterday called on Rumsfeld to investigate. Several
companies that manufacture protective equipment have indicated they can
significantly boost production, Kerry said in a letter to Rumsfeld.
While there seems to be enough body armor and many of the Humvees have
armor plate, there are other shortages, Logan said. "Radios are an issue.
Not all vehicles will [or are authorized] to have them," Logan wrote in the
e-mail. "Any vehicle that doesn't have a radio will be embedded between
other vehicles that do. We are only talking about a minuscule number at this
point."
Logan said soldiers still rely on "family radio service" walkie-talkies, similar
to citizens band radios, that soldiers buy at post exchanges to talk between
vehicles. "Good ol' FRS radios, not allowed, but everyone has them," Logan
said. "We are working to get radios for all. It is a theater-wide problem."
Conti said there is no difference between weapons, Humvees and armor that
the Army gives to regular Army or National Guard and reserve soldiers.
"There is no discretion between whether you are Army Guard, Army Reserve
or active components," Conti said. "They are all treated the same. No matter
where you come from, what state you come from, whether you're a
guardsman or a reservist. They don't even look at that." (TOM BOWMAN, Of
The Patriot-News )
December 14, 2004 - Battle of the Bulge Remembered 60 Years Later
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
DIEKIRCH, Luxembourg, Dec. 14, 2004 — Veterans, service-members and
government and military representatives are arriving here along the
Belgium-Luxembourg border to begin a full week of events commemorating
the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.
Sixty years ago this week, Allied and German forces faced off in the Battle
of the Ardennes, more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge because
of the "bulge" the Germans placed on the thinly held Allied lines in the
region.
Commemoration events will include ceremonies, concerts, parades and
wreath- layings, and planners say veterans should turn out in droves in
what is expected to be an increasingly rare event as their numbers dwindle.
Already, Bastogne is flying scores of U.S. and German flags in honor of its
annual Battle of the Bulge observance on Dec. 18.
The Battle of the Bulge proved to be one of the largest and bloodiest battles
of World War II — one that demonstrated the resolve of the U.S. Army
despite being heavily outnumbered and faced with extraordinarily difficult
circumstances.
In the winter of 1944, Germany was losing the war. The Allies had invaded
France in June and were driving the Germans east. But Adolph Hitler, not
about to accept his fate, had directed an ambitious counteroffensive as a
desperate, last-ditch effort to halt the Allied advance that began six months
earlier during the D-Day invasion.
He had hoped the offensive to be a turning point of the war in Germany's
favor, but ultimately it turned out to be a disastrous mistake that claimed
tens of thousands of lives.
During its four-week course, more than 1 million soldiers fought the battle:
some 500,000 Americans, 600,000 Germans and 55,000 British. Each side
lost more than 800 tanks, and the Germans lost 1,000 aircraft.
Some 30 Germany divisions launched the counteroffensive in the early
morning hours of Dec. 16, 1944, against the Allies in the heavily forested
Belgian Ardennes region. Besides being outnumbered, the Americans were
taken by surprise, because at the time, the Ardennes was being used as a
rest and recuperation area.
The front stretched 85 miles along the borders of Belgium and Luxembourg.
U.S. units facing the main German offensive included the war-weary 26th
Infantry Division, the unseasoned 106th and 99th divisions, the 2nd
Division, an element of the 9th Armored Division, and some smaller units.
After a two-hour bombardment, the German forces had pushed back the
Americans, using the element of surprise, lack of communication, their
overwhelming numbers and bitter winter conditions to their advantage.
A huge snowstorm also worked against the Allies, who were unable to call
in their air power to intervene.
On Dec. 22, Hitler sent a message to the acting commander of the 101st
Airborne Division in Bastogne, U.S. Maj. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, calling for
his surrender. Despite being outnumbered and surrounded, McAuliffe made
his now- famous response to Hitler's request: "Nuts!"
Later that day, the skies cleared, reinforcements were airdropped to
McAuliffe's garrison, and Allied planes began their attack on German tanks.
On Dec. 23, the United States troops began their first counterattack on the
southern flank of the Ardennes "bulge." The struggle between the Allies and
the Germans continued until Jan. 16, 1944, after the Allies' original line in
Ardennes was restored.
Military scholars attribute the U.S. victory on the battlefields of Belgium and
Luxembourg to small-unit actions, which deprived the Germans of the key
commodity they needed to win: speed.
On the first day of the attack, the U.S. 99th Infantry Division and 291st
Combat Battalion held most of their ground against the German 6th Panzer
Army, creating what would become the northern shoulder. Also significant,
historians say, was the holding of St. Vith four days beyond the Germans'
timetable by the 7th Armored Division, 106th Infantry Division, along with
elements of the 9th Armored and 28th Infantry divisions.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill later called the victory at the Battle
of the Bulge one of the greatest of the war.
But that victory came at a tremendous cost, with the toll severe on both
sides of the Atlantic. About 19,000 U.S. soldiers died, and 47,500 were
wounded and more than 23,000 missing. The British suffered 1,400
casualties with 200 killed. And the Germans had 100,000 soldiers killed,
wounded or captured.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, in telling the story of the Battle
of the Bulge last week to troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, called it
"part of a struggle that brought freedom to a huge part of the world in
Europe and helped make this country much more safe and secure."
He told the troops that they're doing the same thing today, 60 years later,
and that history will remember them and their sacrifices.
"It is a sacrifice that I believe your children and grandchildren will look
back (on) and say, you were part of another great generation," Wolfowitz
said.
December 15, 2004 - Luxembourg Officials Thank Battle of Bulge Vets
CLERVAUX, Luxembourg — Luxembourg officials opened a weeklong lineup
of ceremonies and observances throughout the Ardennes region here today
by thanking about 100 veterans of the Battle of the Bulge for liberating
them from their German occupiers 60 years ago.
Camille Kohn, president of CEBA, French
acronym for a Battle of the Bulge research
organization, told the veterans the nation
feels "immense gratitude" for the American
soldiers who liberated it after five years of
oppression.
Kohn joined Clervaux Mayor Francis
Stephany in laying flowers at the foot of the
GI Monument during a solemn ceremony in
the town center. The statue of a war-weary
foot soldier was erected in the early 1980s
to share the story of Clervaux's liberation
with future generations, Kohn said. It
represents "the immense gratitude we have
borne in our hearts, carved into metal for all
eternity," he told the veterans.
Former Army Spc. Carl Dalke,
left, and former Army Sgt.
Pat Murphy, both veterans of
the Battle of the Bulge, pose
in front of the GI Monument
in Clervaux, Luxembourg,
honoring soldiers who
liberated Luxembourg 60
years ago from its Germany
oppressors. Photo by Donna
Miles
(Click photo for screenresolution image); highresolution image available.
In overcoming the Germans, Kohn said the
Americans conquered more than an enemy
force. "You conquered the hearts of an
oppressed people," he said. "And we are
deeply indebted to the United States for all
that your gracious nation did for us."
Stephany said his townspeople and
countrymen have never forgotten the
actions the U.S. military took six decades
ago to free Luxembourg. He told the
veterans — most now in their late 70s and
80s — that his nation remains grateful and
"will never forgot those who paid the full
price" of victory.
It's important for the Luxembourgers to share this message with younger
generations so they too will understand the cost of freedom and recognize
that oppression can't be permitted to stand, Stephany said.
It's a lesson as applicable today as 60 years ago, he said, particularly in
light of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. "Now
it's up to us to help sustain" the war against terrorism "so we can continue
to live in freedom," he told the group.
Veterans at the ceremony, many with family members at their sides, said it
was gratifying to receive heartfelt thanks for their actions during what
many called a turning point in their lives.
"I went in and 18 and came out as an old man at 21," said former Army Spc.
Carl Dalke, who served with the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne,
Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.
Dalke acknowledged that he and his fellow soldiers endured "gut-wrenching
experiences" as they faced brutal weather conditions and limited food
supplies while facing off against a massive German force. He still tears up
as he remembers losing his best friend during the first week of the war, and
called his visit to the 60th anniversary commemoration a fitting way to
remember him and other 19,000 U.S. troops who died here.
Despite the heartaches associated with the war, Dalke said he "came away
with a love" of the local people for helping him and other soldiers. He
remembers with fondness the local people sharing food with the hungry
troops, and taking their sheets off their beds so the soldiers could use them
as camouflage against the snow.
Former Army Sgt. Pat Murphy was 18 when he served with the 78th
Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge and admits that he "didn't
think I'd live to see 19."
Now 78, Murphy said he felt it important to attend the commemoration as
the number of World War II veterans dwindles. "Let's face it," he said with
tears forming in his eyes, "this is probably our last big anniversary."
He said the visit is a way for him to remember the past "and to pay respect
for all my buddies who were killed or badly wounded." Murphy considers
himself "extremely lucky": 87 percent of his division was killed or wounded
during the war.
Gus Swiersz, a staff sergeant with the 28th Infantry Division during the
Battle of the Bulge, said the visit to the 60th anniversary commemoration
was "much more emotional to me" than previous return visits to the region.
This time, he brought along his son and his 11-year-old grandson, Matthew,
so they could relive with him his experiences as a squad leader who
encountered what he believes were the opening shots of the campaign.
"We have three generations here," Swiersz said. "We're all experiencing
this together." (By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service)
December 16, 2004 - Belgium honors Bulge vets
Bastogne, Belgium, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- There are not many places in Europe
where the Stars and Stripes flutters from public buildings, where locals
express their "Thanks to the Yanks" and where Americans are revered as
saviors -- but the Belgian town of Bastogne is one of them.
If my children are free it is thanks to you," local resident Pascale Hane tells
Ahren Jacobson, an 83-year old veteran in town for the 60th anniversary of
the "Battle of the Bulge," Nazi Germany's last, desperate throw of the dice
on the western front. "You are incredible. I can't believe what you did back
then. You are real heroes."
The feeling is shared by many other Belgians in this Ardennes town that saw
some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting in World War II. "Bastogne says
to you: thank you very much," reads a sign in one shop window. In the
visitors' book of the Bastogne Historical Center, one local has written in
French: "I have a great admiration for every one of the soldiers who came
from so far to liberate us from the Germans." Another says simply: "We will
never forget you."
The people of Bastogne and Belgium have every reason to feel grateful to
the United States. On Dec. 16, 1944, the German army launched its last
major counter-offensive of the war when a quarter of a million troops
poured through a lightly defended gap in the Allied defenses. The Nazis' aim
was to quickly take the lightly defended towns of the Ardennes Forest, seize
the strategically important supply port of Antwerp, and drive a wedge
between Allied forces in the Netherlands and northern France.
What the Wehrmacht did not count on was the U.S. Army's refusal to buckle
under enormous pressure. Outnumbered by a ratio of three to one, badly
equipped and often untested in combat, the soldiers of the 80,000-strong
American Eighth Army Corps were completely taken by surprise in the early
hours of Dec. 16.
James Manning, an 85-year old veteran of the North African and Sicilian
campaigns, was one of thousands of troops from the 106th Infantry Division
to surrender within days of the German onslaught. In the Ardennes for the
first time in 60 years, along with over 200 ex-soldiers flown over by the
Belgian government, Manning told United Press International: "Being here
brings back memories of the fog and the cold. Apart from being captured, it
is one of the worst things that can happen to you in wartime, because you
lose your freedom to move."
Thomas Galante, 88, a combat engineer who served in the 28th Infantry
Division, also remembers the freezing winter of 1944-45, when the mercury
plunged to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit and snow stopped supplies from
arriving. "Most of the time during the Battle of the Bulge, I just complained
of the cold. It brings back chilling memories -- in both senses of the word."
Galante, who landed in Europe 20 days after D-Day, says the feeling of
being pushed back by the Germans in the early days of the Ardennes
campaign was humiliating for U.S. troops used to victory. "In Normandy, we
felt were winning. The Germans were on the run, and we went through
them like sand through a sieve. But when they started chasing us, that's
when we felt depressed."
Within a week, Bastogne was encircled as the Allied line bulged and Nazi
troops pushed toward the River Meuse. "We can still lose this war," said
Gen. George S. Patton, whose Third Army sped north from Lorraine to
support the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne. But Gen. Anthony
McAuliffe, commander of the besieged garrison, refused to entertain the
idea of defeat. On Dec. 22, 1944, the Germans delivered an ultimatum to the
American troops holed up in Bastogne: surrender of face annihilation.
McAuliffe's reply has entered the annals of history. "To the German
commander: NUTS! The American commander."
By the end of January, German troops had been pushed back to their
original positions -- but at a terrible cost. Almost one million American
soldiers fought in the U.S. Army's biggest-ever military engagement and
80,000 were killed or wounded. Over 100,000 Germans also lost their lives
in the frozen hills of the Ardennes, along with countless numbers of Belgian
civilians.
Sixty years on, there are few signs of the devastation wrought by the war in
the rolling countryside around Bastogne. But in the Henri-Chapelle cemetery
outside the town, 7,992 Christian crosses and Stars of David pay tribute to
the young American soldiers who died to free Europe from Nazi tyranny.
For veterans like Robert Reed, who was only 19 when he joined the antitank platoon of the 87th Infantry Division, these well-kept graves are more
than just memorials; they are where friends and comrades rest in peace.
"When my two buddies died in battle, I took it as a matter of fact. But when
I see their crosses in the cemetery, it all comes flooding back," says the 79year old, wiping a tear from his eye. "They were the best group of guys I
have ever known."
On Saturday, King Albert II, actor Tom Hanks and a host of other dignitaries
will honor Reed and hundreds of other veterans at a ceremony below the
star-shaped Mardasson Memorial on the outskirts of Bastogne. The panels
around the five sides of this hulking monument, which is inscribed with the
names of the 50 U.S. states, tell a story of extraordinary heroism in
extraordinary times. "Of those dead and of all those who fought here, the
now living may attest the greatness of the deed only by increased devotion
to the freedom for which they braved the fire."
Like many of the veterans almost certainly visiting Belgium for the last time,
Reed wears his modesty like a badge of honor. "Sometimes I feel I am
unworthy of this gratitude. I didn't do anything big," says the New
Hampshire resident, who went on to fight in Japan in the dying months of
the war. "But the Belgian people don't forget."
They certainly do not. On Bastogne's central square, which is dotted with
bars like Nuts cafe, Grill McAuliffe and Patton's cafe, a gaggle of
schoolchildren pose for photos with a group of veterans in front of a
Sherman tank.
"The heart of the Bastogne is 200 percent behind the American people,"
says Olivier Delmee, president of the local tourist office. "I know some
people in Europe think the U.S. Army is not doing a good job in Iraq, but the
mindset here is totally different, because we know what the Americans did
and the sacrifices they made." (By Gareth Harding, Chief European
Correspondent - UPI)
December 16, 2004 - Baptism by fire - Today marks 60th anniversary of
WWII battle
DIAMOND VALLEY -- Sixty years ago today, John Curt Hodges was a 20year-old soldier experiencing war for the first time.
His 106th Infantry Division was fresh off a boat from the United States
when it was attacked by a seasoned German army. It happened near a town
called St. Vith in eastern Belgium. It was an offensive that later became
known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Hodges, now 80, does not look old enough to
have fought in World War II. Though he uses a
wheelchair, he is still able to walk with a cane
and his graying beard has plenty of dark
whiskers.
The veteran lives in a brick house on a quiet hill
overlooking Diamond Valley. He and his late wife
built the area's second house in 1983. During
Hodges' career in real estate, he helped fill the
valley with more than 200 homes, something he
now questions when he looks out across the
once-empty landscape.
Jerel Harrris / Daily
News
"We were green troops
being submitted to
everything the German
troops had to offer," said
J. Curt Hodges, an 80year-old Diamond Valley
resident who remembers
being sent into the Battle
of the Bulge with the
106th Infantry, 424
Batallion, Company M.
Questioning decisions was part of being in the
424th Regiment following the Battle of the
Bulge. Hodges was a transport corporal in the
424th's heavy weapons company, part of the larger 106th Infantry Division.
The 106th was attacked by German troops on Dec. 16, 1944, eventually
wiping out the 422nd and the 423rd regiments. The 424th retreated.
According to historical accounts, many in the 424th questioned whether
they did the right thing by pulling back and losing the ground they were
trying to hold. But the same accounts praise the young troops for holding
out as long as they did, fending off a massive German offensive against the
untried division. The average age of the 106th was 22.
Among Hodges' war memorabilia is a pamphlet about the 106th, issued by
the Army's Information and Education Services following the war. It
describes the pre-battle atmosphere of the wooded, snow-covered ridge
northeast of Luxembourg where the battle was fought.
The booklet read, "This was a quiet sector along the Belgium-Germany
frontier. For 10 weeks there had been only light patrol activity and the
sector was assigned to the 106th so it could gain experience. The baptism
by fire that was to come was the first action for the 106th. For many of its
men it would be the last."
At 5:40 a.m., 60 years ago today, the German forces attacked Hodges'
division head on, surrounding the three regiments and destroying two of
them. The Nazis kept moving up fresh troops to replace their wounded and
dead, but for the 106th at St. Vith, there were no replacements.
"I'm a miracle man ... the fact that I'm sitting here," Hodges said.
The soldiers spent three days moving from foxhole to tree to bush, he said.
Though the 424th had to pull back, when reinforcements arrived they were
given the honor of going back to retake the ground and, in effect, prevent a
full German victory. The counter attack began on Christmas Eve.
"Cooks, office help, everyone picked up a rifle and we retook the ground we
lost," Hodges said. "That broke the back of the German offensive."
As the battle raged, Hodges' division spent Christmas dodging bullets.
Despite the conditions, the Army delivered a Christmas dinner with all the
trimmings to increase morale.
"I don't know how they did it," Hodges said, his voice trembling and his
eyes filling with tears. "I just don't know."
In order to get the food, each soldier had to sneak around, hiding behind
trees to get to the building where the food was. Then they had to dash back
out and hide behind another tree to eat.
"Incidentally, there weren't many guys who went back for seconds,"
Hodges said.
Christmas dinner was not the only reward they got that day. They also took
the town of Manhay and held it. A month later they retook St. Vith.
During the battle, Hodges said the soldiers never went anywhere without
their guns, gas masks and other equipment. He said they had to be ready for
something to happen at any second.
As he spoke of his duties working in the mortar company, Hodges' eyes
seemed much younger than his 80 years. They lit up as he described his
work in detail, almost jumping out of his wheelchair at times.
The 106th's story is only part of the largest battle in Western Europe during
World War II. When it was all over, 8,600 U.S. soldiers were dead and
Germany had lost 17,000.
"You talk about war and that's a word," Hodges said. "You live it and it's
something else now. It's entirely different." (Brian Passey, Spectrum, UT)
December 18, 2004 - U.S. Soldiers at Battle of the Bulge Honored
BASTOGNE, Belgium — Amid snow flurries and a chilling wind, Belgium's
King Albert II honored U.S. soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany 60
years ago in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle for American
forces in war.
Veterans from across the United States returned Saturday to find this
market town that was at the center of the fighting much as it was on that
bitter cold December in 1944 — covered in snow and buffeted by wind.
The old soldiers, wearing military berets and caps, were greeted with warm
applause, hugs and kisses from a grateful crowd that lined the streets.
"I'm very happy to see so many people come out for this event," said Miasy
Dumont, 68, from nearby Ludelange, Luxembourg. "This is the last time I'm
sure. In 10 years there will be no more veterans."
The king, joined by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (search), R-Ill, led
a commemoration and laid wreaths at the vast Mardasson memorial on the
edge of town. The ceremony paid homage to the 19,000 American soldiers
killed and about 61,000 wounded in the largest land battle for U.S. forces in
World War II. The fighting also claimed 120,000 German lives.
"All soldiers memorialized at this monument are part of the greatest
generation," said U.S. Gen. James L. Jones (search), Supreme Allied
Commander in Europe.
After the half-hour ceremony which included a U.S. honor guard from the
101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, veterans were driven
by bus from the towering memorial back to the center of town.
Once there, they again enjoyed warm applause from crowds lining the main
street to the town square and attended a sound and light show and a parade
of World War II vehicles.
The day began with a parade of veterans, marching bands, World War II-era
jeeps, trucks and ambulances through Bastogne. The vehicles rumbled past
the town's central square, named for Anthony McAuliffe, the acting
commander of the 101st Airborne division, whose paratroopers repulsed
repeated attacks.
On Dec. 22, 1944, MacAuliffe was given two hours to surrender by the
Germans or face "total annihilation." His now famous reply: "Nuts!" A
commemorative throwing of nuts was also to take place at the square.
There were guided walks along the defensive perimeter south of Bastogne
that was relieved by Patton's Third Army, which rushed north from France
to help defeat the Germans. The battle raged for six-weeks across the
Ardennes hills of southern Belgium and Luxembourg, but the market town
of 14,000 bore the brunt of the fighting.
"The American veterans who have returned 60 years later to the battle site
represent those who gave their lives on our soil so that today we can live
free," Bastogne Mayor Philippe Collard said in French at a memorial
honoring U.S. General George S. Patton.
He added in English: "we will never forget. You are home here."
Rising out of the Champagne fields of northern France, the Ardennes
highlands sweep across southeastern Belgium, cover much of the Grand
Duchy of Luxembourg, then flow into western Germany's Eiffel range.
Sixty years ago, their valleys, trout streams and rolling hills were the scene
of Hitler's last gamble. His panzer divisions smashed through the forests,
catching the Allies by surprise and driving the front westward in a "bulge"
that ran deep into Belgian territory.
There was so much destruction that its impossible to know exactly how
many people were killed in action, how many went missing and how many
were wounded.
The battle drew in more than a million troops — 600,000 Germans, 500,000
Americans and 55,000 Britons — who fought in bitter cold from Dec. 16,
1944, to Jan. 25, 1945.
The Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge in Arlington, Va., says 19,000
American troops died in the battle.
The Mardasson Memorial on the edge of Bastogne is built on the spot where
German artillery bombarded the Americans in the town below, honoring the
U.S. forces killed and wounded during the Ardennes offensive.
The memorial bears the names of U.S. Army units that participated in the
action as well as the names of the then 48 U.S. States in bronze letters.
There is also a plaque bearing a Latin inscription saying: "Liberatoribus
Americanis Populus Belgicus Memor," or "The Belgian People Remember
Their American liberators."
December 18, 2004 - Crews bid Hueys goodbye
The Indiana National
Guard has officially said
farewell to its workhorse
UH-1 Huey helicopters,
described by one pilot as a
As a young boy growing up in Fairland, Tim
Winslow was mesmerized as he watched the
steady stream of UH-1 Huey helicopters flying
in and out of the nearby Aviation Support
Facility as they conducted operations for the
Indiana National Guard.
flying pickup truck. They
were put into service in
Indiana in 1971. -- AFP /
Getty Images
Winslow, now a major in the Guard and a flight instructor at the Shelbyville
base, was on hand last weekend at the Raytheon Hangar at Indianapolis
International Airport, where he and more than 200 other Guard members
and their families helped retire the Huey, which is being decommissioned
after 40 years of service to the U.S. military.
The Huey, as much a symbol of the Vietnam War era as the jeep was to
those who fought in World War II, holds a special place in the hearts of
those who experienced its unforgettable sound and distinguishing physical
characteristics.
After the war, the Huey became the workhorse of the National Guard in
Indiana and around the country, where it provided support for many
domestic operations, including flood and severe weather rescue as well as
emergency medical transport. The Huey also was utilized for continuing
military operations at Camp Atterbury in southern Johnson County.
"As you can see here today, the Huey is very closely associated with the
Vietnam War; and with the number of Vietnam veterans that we have here
today, it has turned out to be quite an emotional event," Winslow said last
weekend.
"I have had the pleasure and the luxury of growing up in aviation around
many of these veterans. Most are close, personal friends of mine, and I have
had the honor of training with them over the years."
Winslow, who now flies the UH-60 Black Hawk, which has been phased in
over the past several years, has a great appreciation and admiration for the
Huey and its multiple applications.
"The main use of the Huey aircraft is basic utility," Winslow said. "I like to
refer to it as a flying pickup truck."
The Huey saw its first action in Vietnam in 1962, when military planners
determined that the Army needed a turbine-equipped aircraft to transport
troops and supplies. Originally designed as a troop carrier, the Huey was
then transformed into an airborne assault vehicle, fitted with rockets and a
machine gun.
With its round nose, twin blades and distinctive "whomp, whomp" sound,
the Huey was a mainstay in the U.S. war effort and transitioned smoothly
into domestic operations when the first was put into service in Indiana in
1971.
Twenty-eight Hueys were in the local National Guard unit's fleet in 1984,
and now only six remain, all of which will be sold and shipped overseas in
the coming months.
Lew Collier, a retired flight instructor for the Indiana National Guard at the
Shelbyville base, piloted the Huey in Vietnam. He then joined the Guard full
time after graduating from Indiana University. "I cut my eyeteeth on the
Huey in 1968," Collier said.
"As Brigadier General Frank Wright said in his comments, it was 'high
school to flight school' for many of us. It was either that or be drafted for
many of us pilots."
Robert Leonard, a tactical operations officer for the aviation brigade who is
also stationed out of Shelbyville, has logged thousands of hours in the Huey
and was thrilled to have the opportunity to again see many old friends he
served with in the past.
"This is a terrifically emotional day for a good many of us," he said.
"Many of these guys (and I) have been flying the Huey for 25-30 years.
They have a long background and a lot of history together. It is a bit of a
sad day but also a good day because we all get the opportunity to see each
other again."
Just after 4 p.m., Leonard, along with copilot Robert Nash and crew chief
John Antle, boarded the Huey in the blistering winds outside the Raytheon
hangar for the aircraft's final flight, a return trip to the Shelbyville base.
The Huey's mission and service to the state became complete, as many in
the crowd bid a tearful farewell to an icon of American military might. (Tim
Phillips, Star correspondent, IndyStar.com)
December 19, 2004 - Camp Atterbury gives area troops taste of Iraq fight.
Indiana 'Battleground' preps GIs for War
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - Army Reserve Spec. Mike Kean peered around, his
cold hands tightly gripping the handle of the M-249 machine gun resting
atop his Humvee, number seven in a convoy of eight.
He was providing cover as one of his fellow soldiers from the 983rd
Engineer Battalion slung a soldier killed in action over his shoulder. He
watched as men and women screaming Arabic edged closer and closer to
another vehicle in the convoy that had been disabled by an improvised
explosive device.
He also kept his eye on a pickup in the distance that a fellow gunner had
sprayed with bullets after he saw hooded men standing in the bed firing
machine guns in their direction.
Specialist Kean, 25, of the 983rd's Company B, was submerged in a different
world among the plywood structures, barrel fires, and other conditions
similar to those found in many small, rural Iraqi villages.
But the Monroe man wasn't in the Persian Gulf. He really was not that far
from home.
On the 33,000-acre grounds of the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training
Center in Edinburgh, a small Indiana town about 20 miles south of
Indianapolis and a 4 1/2-hour drive from Toledo, Specialist Kean and the
other soldiers of the 983rd were being trained to deal with what they might
encounter in Iraq.
And for members of the 983rd Engineering Battalion, Iraq - not home -is
their next stop.
"This is the real deal. It's what we've trained for and what will keep us
alive," Specialist Kean, the father of a 2-year-old boy, said of the convoy
exercises that employ civilians, including Iraqi nationals, to act as villagers
and insurgents.
The situation that Specialist Kean and his fellow soldiers encountered on a
recent brisk afternoon in southern Indiana is something American forces are
confronted with in Iraq every day. But in the war of Iraq, there are no
blanks used, and no fake bombs.
In Iraq, when civilians approach a soldier, they could be a threat. In Iraq,
when roadside bombs detonate, soldiers sometimes die.
"You control that battlefield over there; don't let them," Master Sgt. David
Fields, an Army trainer, told members of Company B after the training
exercise. "Watch out for each other, correct each other. Do your piece of the
puzzle. If everybody does their piece of the puzzle, we'll get out of there."
The 983rd, which has an authorized force of 630, was mobilized this
summer and reported to Camp Atterbury in late October. The battalion's
headquarters and one company are based in Monclova Township. Another
company is based in Lima, Ohio, and a third in Southfield, Mich.
The group is expected to be sent to Iraq before the end of this month for a
one-year deployment - the unit's first deployment in an armed conflict since
World War II.
The engineer battalion will serve as support for reconstruction efforts, such
as building roads and infrastructure in Iraqi cities.
Also training at Camp Atterbury are about 480 members of the Ohio Army
National Guard's 612th Engineer Battalion, based in Walbridge with
companies in Tiffin and Norwalk, and the Ohio National Guard 211th
Maintenance Company based in Newark, Ohio.
Capt. Mickey Avalos, 36, of Swanton is commander of the 983rd
headquarters company. The assistant principal at Bedford High School,
Captain Avalos said his troops have undergone significant training to
prepare them for war. A reservist since 1990, Captain Avalos saw action
overseas as a lieutenant during Operation Desert Storm. Many of his
soldiers, he said, have not.
That's why the reservists have spent more than a month firing weapons,
assisting simulated wounded soldiers, and learning demolition techniques at
Camp Atterbury.
The camp is one of two training facilities in the country that have been
mobilized to prepare troops for Iraq and Afghanistan, said Maj. Mike Brady,
the camp's public affairs officer. Since February, 2003, the training center
has deployed more than 17,300 National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers.
The training center also has provided support training and facilities for
other military service branches, including the Navy SEALs, Marines, and Air
Force, as well as local law enforcement and first responders.
On the defensive live fire range at Camp Atterbury, Spec. Sharon Stewart,
24, of Toledo dropped to the ground with her M-16A2 in hand and shot at
pop-up targets in the distance. She emptied her magazine - 20 rounds - and
looked back as squad leader Sgt. Richard Hatch ran behind her asking
soldiers how much ammunition they had left.
"We're black," he told his soldiers, referring to the military term signifying
less than 10 percent of ammunition is left.
"We're toast. Get your bayonets out," he joked.
Sergeant Hatch, 36, a husband, father of two young children, and surgical
technologist at St. Charles Mercy Hospital in Oregon, said training is where
the kinks are worked out. "We try to get as much training as possible in
what little time we have," the Lambertville resident said.
Specialist Stewart, an Owens Community College nursing student, said the
training has been vital in preparing her and her fellow soldiers for what lies
ahead in Iraq. The mother of a 21-month-old son, she said she's convinced
her battalion will be successful overseas and is confident everybody will
return home safely. But she knows she won't be home for Christmas, a
reality she's still getting used to, just as her aunt is getting used to caring
for her toddler while she is deployed.
"In terms of training, I'm ready," said the 1998 graduate of St. Ursula
Academy. "Mentally, it's still kind of unbelievable that I'm going."
Lt. Col. Kevin McLinn, commander of the entire 983rd Battalion, returned
recently from a two-week trip to Iraq, where he was briefed on how to
ensure a "seamless" transfer of power from the Cincinnati-based 512th
Engineering Battalion that soon will be on its way home.
"Everybody is waiting to hear what I learned: 'How is the food? What are
the living conditions? Did I get shot at?'" said Colonel McLinn, 44, of
Indianapolis.
"The food is fantastic, and no, I actually never got shot at," he said.
Major Brady said the Army constantly updates training exercises based on
feedback from soldiers serving in Iraq. This gives newly deployed soldiers
the chance to anticipate what lies ahead.
For members of the 983rd, who last saw their families over Thanksgiving,
the lessons learned at Camp Atterbury are designed to keep them alive.
"This type of training has been brought on by experiences of soldiers right
out of the country," said Staff Sgt. Michael Bodine, 39, formerly of Clyde,
Ohio, and now a resident of Fort Wayne, Ind. "It's vital to integrate this into
training."
On the grounds of the mock Iraqi village, more than a dozen people stood
around waiting for the first convoy of Humvees to drive through. The
civilians on the battlefield - are contracted by the military to serve as actors
creating situations soldiers will come across in Iraq.
The soldiers drove through once, weapons ready, and were greeted by a
waving and cheering crowd. Some soldiers waved back.
The second time through, however, things turned nasty.
There was an explosion simulating a roadside bomb and training officers
stopped one of the convoy vehicles. "You've just been killed," a soldier was
told.
Hiding in the plywood structures, actors portraying Iraqi villagers
recognized their cue to approach the convoy to verbally harass and
physically confront the soldiers.
Raisan Al Shimray, a tall and imposing man, led the way. Mr. Al Shimray left
Iraq after Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait in 1990. After spending
nearly eight years in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Al Shimray came to the United
States. He became an American citizen on Aug. 7, 2003.
This fall, while working at a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and
Restaurant in Kentucky, Mr. Al Shimray learned from a friend that the Army
was looking for civilians to help train soldiers. He signed up, and has been
teaching his fellow actors Arabic words to make the training more
authentic.
"I want to give you help," Mr. Al Shimray told the 983rd soldiers as he
approached them during the convoy exercise.
Sgt. Shane Sanderson, the platoon sergeant, asked him to back up, yelling
above the jeering crowd that his soldiers "will be out of your area in a
minute" and to "please be patient, please give us room."
Mr. Al Shimray said he saw the perplexed look on many soldiers' faces
during the exercise. Though it was just training, the gravity of the situation
was clearly not lost on the participating soldiers.
Nonetheless, Mr. Al Shimray was able to pull a big smile out of Sergeant
Sanderson, who carried an unloaded M-4, a shorter version of the M-16A2
rifle. In between several loud outbursts in Arabic, Mr. Al Shimray jokingly
repeated in a thick accent:
"Please don't shoot me. Please don't shoot me." (ERICA BLAKE,
Toledoblade.com)
December 22, 2004 - 60 years ago in a war far away
BASTOGNE, Belgium — The sweet high-tenor voice filled the little chapel at
Henri-Chapelle Cemetery with "The Star-Spangled Banner," but the words
were in an unfamiliar tongue. Roland, an elderly Belgian gentleman, told me
proudly: "I sang this for Gen. Eisenhower when he came here in 1945, but I
was only a little boy then. When the Americans arrived, it was paradise."
A Vietnam War veteran with long white hair and in a black leather jacket,
standing nearby, did not try to hide his tears as he strained to hear the
French words — "O, Regardez dans la clarte du matin ("O, say can you see
by the dawn's early light").
Henri-Chapelle Cemetery lies on the road from Liege, Belgium to Aachen,
Germany. It is not far from Bastogne, a small town whose name is seared,
like Gettysburg and Chancellorsville, in the soul and sinew of America. The
cemetery is the last resting place of 7,992 American soldiers. Most of them
died trying to repulse the German offensive known by us as the Battle of the
Bulge, for the great bulge in the American lines. Europeans call it the Battle
of the Ardennes, for the great forest surrounding the town.
There are 14 such World War II sites maintained abroad by the American
Battle Monuments Commission, created by an act of Congress in 1923. Use
of the permanent cemetery sites on foreign soil was granted in perpetuity
by the host governments to the United States, free of cost, rent and
taxation. In the Ardennes area, there are three cemeteries of American
dead. The American flag flies above all of them; the dead can sleep in
American soil.
We had come, a group of travel writers from the United States, along with
dozens of World War II veterans and their families, to honor those who had
fallen in the cold, bloodstained, forested hills of the Ardennes in Belgium
and in Luxembourg. At Henri-Chapelle, there are rows and rows of white
Christian crosses and Stars of David, arranged in broad sweeping curves on
a gently sloping lawn.
The veterans fanned out among the graves to look for the names of
comrades fallen 60 years ago in one of the fiercest and costliest battles of
the war.
Belgian veterans were there, too. One of them told me, with great pride,
that when the Germans arrived, all of the 100 young men of his village were
ordered to join the German army. To a man, they refused. To a man, they
were sent to work camps to labor as slaves. Some survived; many did not.
As the busloads of veterans arrived, they were greeted by dozens of
schoolchildren, waving small American flags and chanting, "Wel-come, welcome, wel-come." Belgian schoolchildren of the Ardennes are taught to care
for the graves of the fallen Americans, and to honor the Allied dead who
gave their lives to free Europe from the Nazi yoke. The local community is
involved in keeping the memory of the battle alive.
A woman read a moving poem entitled "Freedom Is Not Free," which she
had composed for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the battle.
Anthems were sung, short speeches made. Sixty years is a long time, but
these men, Americans and Belgians alike, have not forgotten the liberation
of Belgium and Luxembourg. Many are veterans of "the longest day" on the
beaches of Normandy who fought their way from June 6, 1944, through the
summer, autumn and winter into 1945. The insignia on their jackets tells
the tale.
The Battle of the Bulge began Dec. 16, 1944, when a formidable assembly
of German tanks, guns and men, including the dreaded SS Panzer division
under the command of Gen. Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt, crashed
through the forest against the thinly held American lines. Adolf Hitler's
theory was that the Allied invasion could be halted and that British and
American forces could be divided, enabling his army to cross the River
Meuse, capture Brussels and the port of Antwerp before the Americans
could react.
The Americans fought valiantly with extraordinary courage. The battle
began in a blizzard and did not end until Jan. 28, 1945. It was the final
great German offensive of World War II. The ground was frozen; those who
died in the forest often were buried beneath nothing but a mound of leaves,
with a boot or hand thrust through the snow to mark where they died.
Foxholes dug by American soldiers in the forest east of Bastogne and
markings on trees skinned by artillery remain undisturbed, a living
testament to those who fought there.
A walk through the now silent forest is like a visit to carefully preserved
battlefields at Antietam and Manassas — an elegiac reminder of what the
days and nights of battle must have been like for friend and foe alike. The
Ardennes campaign, fought along with British, Canadian, Free French and
Belgian troops, eventually claimed 80,000 American dead and wounded and
more than 100,000 Germans killed, wounded or captured. Eighty-six of the
Americans were slain Dec. 17, 1944, when the Germans lined them up in a
meadow near Malmedy and cut them down with machine guns.
In Bastogne, the American 101st Airborne Division held the
overwhelmingly superior numbers of Germans at bay until Allied
reinforcements, led by Gen. George S. Patton Jr., raced to relieve them and
turn the tide of battle. It was here that Gen. Anthony McAuliffe uttered his
famous rejoinder, "Nuts," in reply to the German demand for his surrender.
NUTSCAFE
Bastogne still has a certain charm, despite heavy damage incurred in the
war. A Sherman tank in the middle of McAuliffe Square is a magnet for boys
to climb and crawl over the tank. The cafes surrounding the square bear
names like Grill McAuliffe, Nuts Cafe and Patton's Cafe.
Every year, on the Saturday closest to Dec. 16, the mayor of Bastogne
throws nuts from the balcony of the City Hall in honor of Gen. McAuliffe, a
native of Washington who died in 1975. This year, for the 60th anniversary
on Dec. 16, the town expects to parade 300 Allied vehicles.
On Mardasson Hill, the Hill of Heroes, on the outskirts of Bastogne, stands
a splendid memorial in the form of a star, representing the tribute of the
Belgian people to the Allied, and particularly American, soldiers killed,
wounded or missing in action during the liberation of the town and villages
in the Battle of the Ardennes.
The story of the battle is inscribed on the interior walls of the memorial;
the names of the units that participated in the battle are listed on the
exterior columns alongside their unit insignia. A walkway along the top of
the memorial permits visitors to see the site of the battle.
Belgian and American veterans gathered at Mardasson on this past
Memorial Day to commemorate the upcoming 60th anniversary of the battle.
Brenda B. Schoonover, the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Brussels,
gave a moving speech pointing out that "honoring the dead would give
meaning to our own lives"; the town choir sang, and 50 Belgian soldiers
lined the walkway atop of the memorial and unfurled the flags of the 50
American states.
A museum at the Mardasson site commemorates the battle, with exhibits
of authentic uniforms and weapons, and lifelike dioramas of war, both
civilian and military. A 30-minute film brings the battle to life once again.
Both Gen. McAuliffe and German Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel were
consultants to the museum.
PEACEWOOD
Nearby is the Peace Wood, where trees have been laid out in the pattern
of the UNICEF symbol of mother and child. The names of fallen veterans are
inscribed on plaques at the base of individual trees.
The Ardennes battles did not take place in Belgium alone, but ranged over
the adjoining Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, as well. Many small towns were
destroyed in the fighting.
Luxembourg did not have an army (except for a volunteer army used in
ceremonial functions only) and had always declared itself to be neutral. The
night before the May 10, 1940, German invasion of Luxembourg, the grand
ducal family and Cabinet went into exile in the United States, Canada and
England.
The Germans incorporated Luxembourg into the Third Reich and its name
ceased to exist as it became the Mosel Country District (Gau Moselland)
from then until the liberation. In a referendum organized by the Nazis, 98
percent of the population voted against becoming German citizens, resulting
in considerable reprisals against the population.
GEN. PATTON
Luxembourg remains devoted to its liberator, Gen. Patton, whose life-size
sculpture stands, binoculars in hand, in Ettelbruck in northern Luxembourg,
which the 3rd Army liberated on Christmas Day, 1944. The statue is a copy
of one at West Point. Gen. Patton, who died of injuries suffered in a traffic
accident shortly after the war, is buried in Luxembourg with his soldiers in
the American Cemetery.
The cemetery is in a glade, framed by spruce, beech and oak trees. On the
terrace above the graves are two large rectangular pylons. The outer sides
are inscribed with names, rank, organization and state of entry into service
of 371 members of the U.S. Army missing in action. On the inner face of
each pylon, a large operations map is carved into the granite. The west
pylon contains a map of operations in Western Europe from the Normandy
landings to the end of the war; the east pylon shows a map of the Ardennes
and the Rhineland campaigns, including the Battle of the Bulge.
Set into the granite paving at the center of the memorial terrace
overlooking the gravesites are Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's dedication of
the Roll of Honor in St. Paul's Cathedral in London: "All who shall hereafter
live in freedom will be here reminded that to these men and their comrades
we owe a debt to be paid with grateful remembrance of their sacrifice and
with the high resolve that the cause for which they died shall live eternally."
More than 5,000 American military dead are buried in the Luxembourg
cemetery, including a woman Army nurse. In 22 instances, two brothers
rest side by side. At the front of the memorial, two flagpoles overlook the
grave of Gen. Patton. Those buried in the cemetery are heroes to the
Luxembourgers; there is no vandalism in the cemetery.
A German cemetery is also in the vicinity, and German bodies are still
occasionally unearthed in the battlefields. The resourceful Luxembourgers,
who volunteered their bedsheets as camouflage for the Allied soldiers
during the winter of 1944, now use the German remnants of the war for
more practical purposes: a German rocket launcher has become a rain
gutter; detonating cord is now a yellow rope used for hanging out washing.
Through more than 1,000 photographs, the General Patton Memorial
Museum in Ettelbruck documents the German invasions in May 1940, the
occupation of Luxembourg and the liberation of the country by the
Americans. The museum also exhibits many of the weapons excavated
during the past few years on the Ardennes battlefields.
Diekirch, near Ettelbruck, is home to the fascinating National Museum of
Military History that curator Roland J. Gaul oversees with unflagging
dedication. The museum is dedicated to an impartial, balanced and objective
representation of the historical facts of the Battle of the Bulge from three
aspects of the conflict — the American, the German and the civilian.
The museum, in a former brewery, contains an extraordinary collection of
weaponry, uniforms and armored vehicles, but its key attraction lies in the
selection of dioramas representing various aspects of life during the battle.
The most dramatic tableau depicts troops of the 3rd Army about to cross the
icebound Sauer River on Jan. 18, 1945 to liberate Diekirch.
The museum is a favorite for returning veterans. When a group of visitors
spoke with admiration and thanks to one such American veteran, he replied,
"No, no; the guys who didn't come home are the real heroes."
Luxembourg is a lovely part of middle Europe. In the northern part of the
country lie the forested Ardennes hills; in the south are rolling farmlands,
woods and the valley of the Moselle River; in the extreme south is the
mining district. The capital, Luxembourg City, is a vibrant, cosmopolitan
center.
The national language, Letzebuergesch, is a strange combination of
French and German, but distinct from and incomprehensible to both. The
country is trilingual: French, the language of official and cultural activities,
German and Letzebuergesch. English is widely spoken.
Luxembourg was originally settled by Neolithic and Celtic tribes. The
Romans arrived in the first century A.D. By the 12th century, the counts of
Luxembourg ran the country and from 1308 to 1437, the House of
Luxembourg held the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. Subsequently,
Luxembourg fell under French, Austrian, Spanish and German rule until its
independence in 1868. Since then it has been a constitutional monarchy.
Vianden is one of the country's pretty villages, crowned with the ruins of
an old castle. The Americans had used the ruins as a reconnaissance post
during the Battle of the Bulge and made their headquarters in a now
delightful hotel in the center of the town. Vianden's young people helped as
couriers.
RUINSINTACT
Like the Viet Cong system of underground tunnels in a later war, so, too,
in Vianden there was a system of tunnels linking the castle with the town.
The Germans attacked the castle in November 1944 but retreated because
of the number of casualties. The natives proudly said after the war: "The
town is in ruins, but the ruins are intact."
The castle was restored in 1977 and now receives about 200,000 visitors
annually. The town holds a festival in the castle each August and hosts a nut
market in October.
Luxembourg City, however, is the country's main attraction, the capital as
well as the seat of the European Community. It was founded at a Roman
crossroads in the 10th century by Count Sigefroi, who bartered some of his
land for a Roman fortress called Lucilinburhuc. He built his castle high up
atop a sandstone rock, above steep walls overlooking two valleys, and
erected a defensive wall around his castle.
Legend has it that Count Sigefroi married Melusine, a beautiful river
mermaid. The count did not know that his wife was a mermaid, and to
protect her secret she assumed her fish tail only on Saturdays, a day when
she told her husband he could not see her. Curiosity, of course, made him
spy on her, and she vanished into the rock on which the castle was built.
Once every seven years Melusine returns, either as a serpent with a
golden key in its mouth or as a beautiful woman. She will not win her
freedom from the imprisoning rock until someone is brave enough to kiss
the woman or take the key from the mouth of the serpent. So far, no one
has come forward, and she knits a stitch a year. When the garment is
finished, all of Luxembourg will vanish into the rock with her.
Melusine, with two tails, also appears as a figure in German and
Scandinavian coats of arms. A French legend has her married to Raymond of
Poitou with the same secluded Saturdays. He too peeked, but she forgave
him. When, however, he called her a "serpent" in front of his court, she
assumed the form of a dragon and flew off, never to return.
The fortresses of Luxembourg City have been replaced by parks. The ruins
of one of them have been incorporated into the new Museum of Modern Art
of the Fortress. The Old Town, at the foot of the rock on the banks of the
rambling river, was built from the 11th to the 19th centuries and has
charming little houses and a splendid abbey, which the Germans used as a
prison. It is being turned into an artists' center.
The city has many fine museums, a beautiful cathedral, an imposing Ducal
Palace, several good restaurants and a sensational pastry shop, the
Patisserie Oberweis, which makes chocolates to rival the best of Belgium
and pastries equal to the best of France.
The Kirchberg area is a stunning modern industrial area, primarily of
banks but also home of the General Secretariat of the European Parliament.
Although the area is somewhat lifeless, the architecture of the buildings and
the beautiful sculpture by such world-famous artists as Frank Stella and
Richard Serra makes it worth a visit.
On the way back to Brussels, a visitor should stop in Clervaux to see the
permanent installation of the "Family of Man" exhibit created by
Luxembourg-born photographer Edward Steichen for the Museum of Modern
Art in New York. The exhibit is housed in the 12th-century Castle of
Clervaux and continues, despite the suffering of World War II, to serve as a
message of hope for mankind.
Dulles to Brussels, then to hotels
United Airlines offers the only daily nonstop flight between Washington
Dulles International Airport and Brussels. From Brussels, it's an easy drive
to the Ardennes and Bastogne. From Paris, it's a short trip via the
comfortable high-speed Thalys trains to Brussels. RailEurope (phone
888/382-7245 or visit www.raileurope.com) can arrange tickets prior to
departure from the United States. The company can provide individual
tickets, reservations or special rail passes.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Brussels offers hotels in all categories. Le Meridien, Carrefour de l'Europe,
1000 Brussels (phone 32-2-420-1000, is a conveniently located hotel across
from the railroad station, with comfortable, modern rooms. Hotel Amigo, rue
de l'Amigo 1-3, 1000 Brussels, Belgium (32-2-547-4747), around the corner
from Grand Place in the center of the city, is a Rocco Forte hotel that has
been completely renovated and is small and elegant.
In the Ardennes, the Auberge la Grande Cure, 12 les Planesses, 6987
Marcourt, Belgium (32-84-47-73-69), is an attractive seven-room inn with a
first-rate kitchen. It is convenient to the sites of the Battle of the Bulge and
for winter sports, as well.
BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Belgium and Luxembourg are preparing special celebrations for the 60th
anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in December. For more information,
contact the Belgian Tourist Bureau (212/758-8130 or
www.visitbelgium.com) or the Luxembourg Tourist Bureau (212/935-5896
or www.visitluxembourg.com). Walking and driving tours around the
battlefields are explained in brochures available through the tourist offices.
Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, rue de Memorial Americain 57, 4852
Nombourg, Belgium; 32-87-68-71-73; www.usabmc.com
Luxembourg American Cemetery, 50 Val du Scheid, L-2517 Luxembourg;
352-43-17-27
American Battle Monuments Commission, 2300 Clarendon Blvd.,
Arlington, VA 22201 (703/696-6900 or www.abmc.gov)
National Museum of Military History, Roland J. Gaul, Curator, 10 Bamertal,
L-9209 Diekirch, Luxembourg (352-80-89-08 or www.nat-militarymuseum.lu)
Bastogne Historical Center, Colline du Mardasson, B-6600 Bastogne,
Belgium (32-61-21-14-13 or www.bastognehistoricalcenter.be)
By Corinna Lothar
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
December 23, 2004 — A soldier from a local Army Reserve unit was among
those killed Tuesday in Iraq when an explosion tore through a U.S. military
base mess tent.
Sgt. 1st Class Paul D. Karpowich, 30, a member of the Army Reserve 98th
Division based in Rochester, died from injuries caused by the attack in
Mosul. The explosion killed 22 people, many of them Americans, and left
about 69 people wounded.
Karpowich, who was married, was a Pennsylvania native who lived in
Bridgeport, Pa. — just northwest of Philadelphia — said Maj.Timothy
Hansen, spokesman for the 98th.
"He was full of life, and he had a great sense of humor," said Hansen, who
met Karpowich while the unit was at Camp Atterbury in Indiana before
being deployed to Iraq in mid-November. "He was a professional. He had his
act together. The Army clicked with that guy."
No other members of the 98th were injured, Hansen said. He said he did not
have additional information.
The 98th is a unit of about 3,300 citizen soldiers that draws from New York,
New Jersey and all of New England. Members traditionally train reserve and
active-duty soldiers. About 700 members have been deployed to Iraq to
help train the Iraqi army.
The Iraqi mission was the unit's first overseas deployment as a division
since World War II.
Karpowich had been in the Army for 13 years as an active and reserve
member. He began his military career as a paratrooper with the 82nd
Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg, N.C.
"I liked the confidence he exuded," Hansen said. "He volunteered for that
mission (Iraq). I give him a lot of credit for that." (Rochester (NY)
Democrat and Cronicle)
- Lansing office workers to play Santa Claus
for Army platoon.
December 24, 2004
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A group of office workers is bringing Christmas to a
platoon of Army reservists scheduled to leave Sunday for the Middle East.
Members of the 983rd Engineer Battalion based in Southfield, which
includes soldiers from Michigan and Wisconsin, were given 48-hour leave
for the holiday, but were not allowed to travel more than 50 miles from
their training site at Camp Atterbury, Ind.
That meant most of the soldiers would be unable to get home for Christmas.
Many planned to stay on the base 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
"We decided if they couldn't come home for Christmas, we would take
Christmas to them," Carolanne Kapp of Dansville, whose son, Spc. Charles
Kapp, 19, is a member of the platoon, told the Lansing State Journal for a
recent story.
She and her fellow employees in the billing department at Mid-Michigan
Physicians in Lansing decided to adopt the 30 members of the platoon for
the holiday.
"I told my son to ask the men and women in the platoon to each list one
thing they would like for Christmas," Kapp said. "When I didn't get the list,
we bought things that the family readiness program recommended."
Kapp delivered those items to the soldiers last week. Then her son came
through with the requested list.
So the department's 25-member staff did some more shopping. The
requested items included DVDs, CDs, books, headphones and a cribbage
board.
Most of the items were things the soldiers will share.
"They weren't thinking entirely of themselves," said Kapp, who traveled to
Indiana to deliver the items on Thursday. "They asked for things they can
put in a community pool for everyone to enjoy.
Jamie Galloway of Lansing sported an elf cap as she joined her fellow
employees to wrap the gifts Wednesday morning.
"I think it's wonderful that we're able to do this," she said. "It's a way to
prove our support to the people who are going over to the Middle East and
putting their lives on the line." (Detroit Free Press, MI)
December 27, 2004 -
Thank you from soldier stirs inquiry.
HAMMOND — When Nicole Carlin printed notes in April 2003 to accompany
care packages for soldiers from Northwest Indiana serving in the Middle
East, she thought she might get a letter from Iraq.
Nineteen months after the packages left Crown Point on the back of a
Salvation Army truck, Carlin got her first response — from a soldier in
Edinburgh, Ind.
The letter, postmarked Dec. 6, 2004, caught Carlin by surprise.
“At first I was excited, then I was like, 'Wait a minute, this is from Camp
Atterbury,’ ” Carlin said. “Why didn’t the package go overseas?”
County officials who spearheaded Operation Compassion are wondering the
same thing.
Lake County Veterans Affairs director Ernie Dillon said businesses and
county departments donated money and goods such as anti-bacterial soap,
sunscreen, toilet paper, body lotion and medicated foot powder in spring
2003 with the understanding they would get to Indiana natives on the front
lines.
“When we did this over a year ago, it was our intention that these packages
end up in the hands of the troops in combat zones,” Dillon said.
Lake County’s Operation Compassion was part of a statewide program by
the Salvation Army.
Maj. Roger Ross, Lake County coordinator for the Salvation Army, initially
said the soldier at Camp Atterbury must have been given a lone package
from Lake County that somehow got left behind at the organization’s central
depot when the rest of the 1,500 boxes were put on a plane.
But Ross subsequently said the Lake County Salvation Army only carried the
packages as far as Indianapolis, when the items became wards of the state
Salvation Army and eventually the military.
“We fulfilled our obligation in terms of getting the packages into the
military pipeline,” Ross said. “The important thing is, the packages got into
the hands of soldiers who need them.”
Jo Ann Remender, the state Salvation Army’s assistant development
director, said the organization shipped about 18,000 care packages to
soldiers in the Middle East in 2003.
Other packages were sent to Camp Atterbury, Remender said.
But Lake County Veterans Service coordinator Patricia Amerski said the
Salvation Army clearly understood the packages from Lake County were
meant to go overseas.
“We made a bunch of banners, to the troops on the war front, and had
school kids and county employees sign them,” Amerski said. “This had
nothing to do with the home front.”
This fall the county sponsored the campaign, “Let U.S. Not Forget,” to send
another round of packages to soldiers in Iraq. But when the letter arrived
from the soldier at Camp Atterbury, Amerski said she decided to hire a
private company to ship the goods, rather than the Salvation Army.
Dillon said he hopes Operation Compassion’s original intent can still be
honored, even if money must be raised locally to get the care packages
shipped to the front.
“My understanding was that somebody overseas was going to enjoy those
packages from Northwest Indiana, and my hope is that can still be the
case,” Dillon said. “Whatever needs to be done to complete this mission,
let’s do it.” (PostTrib.com Hammond, IN)
December 28, 2004 -
battle
Iraqis help American troops prepare for
EDINBURGH, Ind. (AP) As American soldiers attempted to tow a Humvee hit
by a fake roadside bomb, Saleh Thanon, an Iraqi national, taunted them
with insults.
''Criminal, get out of my country!'' Thanon yelled in Arabic, heckling the
troops in a mock Iraqi village. ''I don't want you in my country. You're
killing people.''
Harsh words for someone who professes to love America, but Thanon is just
doing his job. He's training troops for Iraq, and he wants them to be ready.
The Army has been using Iraqi nationals to help troops develop language
and cultural skills since the invasion of that country in March 2003. They are
among about 1,000 Arabic speakers the Army uses for training, said Bob
Close, spokesman for U.S. Army Forces Command.
At least eight mobilization stations are using Iraqis to help Guard, reserve
and active troops prepare for deployments, Close said. Among them are
Camp Atterbury, 30 miles south of Indianapolis; the Joint Readiness
Training Center at Fort Polk, La., and the National Training Center at Fort
Irvine, Calif.
Some days, the Iraqis play welcoming townspeople, friendly mayors or Iraqi
police; on others, they portray terrorists or hostile villagers.
The training represents a change in philosophy for the military, said David
R. Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the
University of Maryland. Army troops have long received language help as
they prepared for battle, but cultural training was nonexistent in such
conflicts as the Vietnam War, he said.
Winning over the Iraqi people, who play a key role in this mission, is crucial
to success, Segal said. ''This is a war where cultural knowledge may be
more important than the number of bullets that you have,'' he said.
Many of the participating Iraqis immigrated to the United States after the
1991 Persian Gulf War to escape oppression under Saddam Hussein's
regime. Some are now American citizens.
Their work with U.S. troops is coordinated by defense contractors such as
Goldbelt Eagle, which is paid $15 million to provide role players at five
military bases. President Wayne Smith said applicants typically hear about
the jobs through word of mouth or recruiters.
All participants must pass rigorous screenings by a private investigator and
the government.
Thanon and his friend Salim Alshimary said they sought the work to help
their homeland.
''I love this job, trying to help the U.S. military understand my language and
my culture and save lives, both of them, the Iraq and the U.S.,'' Thanon
said.
Alshimary, 36, of Basra, Iraq, said he deserted from the Iraqi Army after the
1990 invasion of Kuwait. He believes he would have been killed if he had
not left the country.
He has been surprised by the postwar violence in his homeland.
''We never thought this bad stuff would happen,'' he said. ''We thought it
would be easy and it will be very quick.''
It has been neither, which makes understanding the Iraqi culture essential,
participants said.
Thanon, who attended Basra University and coached soccer in Iraq, advises
the troops to not touch women and not to yell at children; both actions
perceived as disrespectful.
In one scenario, he pretends to be the head of a household who won't
cooperate with the troops unless they are polite.
''That way, I will help you get into my house and search my house and be
friendly,'' Thanon said.
''We know the Americans go over to help us, but there are some people in
Iraq that can't understand that because they see them do things in different
ways.''
Segal said those cultural differences were evident in the media portrayal
last month of the shooting of a wounded and apparently unarmed man by a
Marine in a Fallujah mosque.
The Arabic media expressed outrage that the Marines wore boots in the
mosque a taboo in the Muslim faith. The issue was hardly mentioned in the
American media, Segal said.
Maj. Gen. Bruce Robinson, commander of the 98th Division, which recently
deployed from Camp Atterbury to help train the Iraqi military, said the
cultural lessons have been beneficial.
''We go in as guests to a host country and poised to respect the cultures and
customs of that culture,'' Robinson said. (By Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press)
November 1, 2004 - Local Guard Unit Gets First-Ever Combat Support
Mission
A Newark-based Ohio Army National Guard company is taking on an
overseas combat support role for the first time in the unit’s history. About
200 members of the 211th Maintenance Company said their official
goodbyes Sunday afternoon, three days before actually deploying for
training, then heading to the Persian Gulf region. A large sendoff ceremony
was held at Adena Hall on the Newark campus of the Ohio State University.
"During this deployment, you will get to know your fellow soldiers
extremely well. And together, only together as a team, will you be able to
fully accomplish your mission," First Lieutenant John Frye told the unit
under his command before an audience of hundreds.
On Wednesday, the 211th first goes to Camp Atterbury in southern Indiana
for training. Then they ship off to Kuwait where they will take part in
additional exercises before heading north into Iraq. The 211th’s mission will
be the maintenance and repair of vehicles and equipment for military use in
Iraq. (WBNS TC, Newark, OH)
November 2, 2004 - Sysco extends contract with Defense Department
Sysco/Louisville Food Services has exercised an option on a contract with
the U.S. Department of Defense to supply food and related products to
military installations and other facilities in Louisville and the surrounding
region. According to a news release from the DOD, the contract is valued at
$18.9 million per year. Sysco/Louisville has served as the primary food
vendor for the region for the past three years and has one remaining option
under its current contract, said Steve Kessler, director of program sales for
the Louisville operation.
Under the contract, Sysco supplies food service to cafeterias and foodservice facilities at the U.S. Army's Fort Knox, near Elizabethtown, Ky.; and
Camp Atterbury, near Edinburgh, Ind. The Louisville company also supplies
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and various Job Corps Centers in
Kentucky, Tennessee and surrounding areas, Kessler said. A portion of the
contract is fulfilled by a sister company in Nashville, he added.
The DOD contract comprises about 5 percent of the annual revenue for
Sysco/Louisville Food Services. Sysco/Louisville Food Services, part of
Houston-based Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY), markets and distributes food and
related products throughout Kentucky, Southern Indiana, southern Illinois
and West Virginia.
November 2, 2004 - Guard unit of 95 soldiers leaves LaPorte, Indiana.
Especially from the children, it was raining tears as they exchanged hugs
and kisses with their fathers Monday. Other loved ones threw up a shield,
but their broken hearts showed through faces racked with worry and pain.
The 95 soldiers assigned to the LaPorte National Guard Armory kept more
poker-faced as they bravely waved goodbye en route to Camp Atterbury
near Indianapolis to prepare for 15 months of active duty in Iraq. In reality,
the soldiers were also hurting but did their best to remain steely-eyed so
they can best accomplish their mission and cope with extreme danger a half
globe away.
"Taking care of the mission and the soldiers comes first. But, at night, I
know that I'll talk to the Lord and think about my family and hope for the
best," said 1st Sgt. Daniel Ronay, a resident of Westville and one of leaders
of the squadron deployed from the LaPorte National Guard Armory.
Ronay is a 31-year U.S. Army veteran with previous duty on the
battlegrounds of Beirut, Lebanon and during the Persian Gulf War slightly
over a decade ago. He'll join his wife, Lisa, who's already in Camp Atterbury
getting ready for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The couple's 16-year-old son is
living with a best friend of Ronay's until he and his wife return home. "My
biggest fear is that I don't see a military car come into my driveway because
then I know they're OK," said Kathleen Proffitt, a Michigan City native with
two sons on active duty in the war.
Her 41-year-old son, Sgt. James Swanson of Michigan City, often held his
10-year-old daughter, Kristin, in the moments leading up to his departure.
And, several times, he comforted her in private when tears uncontrollably
poured from her big blue eyes. "That's her daddy. She's very close to her
dad," said Proffitt. Her other son, Ronald, has been in Baghdad, Iraq, the
past several months.
Proffitt said she wished opinions were more positive about the war, saying
the onslaught of negativity doesn't help the morale of the troops or family
members trying to come to grips with their fears. "We have to be realistic
enough that it's not the safest place to be going but I try not to worry a lot.
You just have to have a lot of faith," said Proffitt.
LaPorte-area resident Wes England said goodbye to his youngest brother,
Spencer. Another brother, Doug, has been in Afghanistan since
midsummer. "I have my own opinions about the war but what's most
important is we support the guys that are over there. They're not the
decision-makers. They're over there to get it done so we're going to support
them any way that we can," said
Louis Warner, of Valparaiso, Ind., was adamant in his desire for the troops
to be pulled out of Iraq. His son-in-law, Michael Klenk, 31, of Chesterton,
Ind., won't get to see the birth of his twins. "This shouldn't be happening.
They should just bring our troops home. There's just too many lives being
lost," said Warner.
Capt. Andrew Kovatz, 39, of Hobart, Ind., said the stay at Camp Atterbury
for training purposes will be anywhere from 30 to 45 days. After that, the
troops will go overseas to an undisclosed location for a short time before
setting foot in Iraq.
Even though deployment brought sadness, Kovatz said there was a great
sense of relief from the churning in the stomach felt by not knowing when
they would be called. "The good thing is the day is here is we're going to
move forward," said Kovatz. (By STAN MADDUX, South Bend IN Tribune)
November 4, 2004 - Stivers is one of a handful
both elected and deployed
State Sen. Steve Stivers (R-Columbus, OH) has
made at least two big choices this year.
The first was to interview for a promotion in an
organization he's worked in for 19 years: the
Ohio Army National Guard. Having started out
the year a major, Stivers is expected to be
promoted this month to lieutenant colonel.
By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
The second decision was to join his unit, the
237th Personnel Services Battalion, when it was
ordered to deploy to the Middle East for what is
expected to be a one-year tour.
Stivers knew that the 237th was on the list of
units eligible to be called to active duty when he
signed on to lead it. "I just took command of
this unit in June," he said. "They went on alert
in April, so I knew there was a possibility they
were going to be activated."
Sen. Steve Stivers is
preparing to be deployed
to the Persian Gulf. He is
the commander of the
237th Personnel Services
Battalion. Here, he
receives an anthrax shot
from Pfc. Justin Linhart.
As a former vice president of government relations at Bank One and now a
state senator, Stivers has the skills and experience to have had options in
the Guard, but he has chosen to remain at troop level, where the chances of
deployment are high. "I've purposely stayed in regular army troop units,"
he said. "I didn't want to go to state headquarters where you can't have an
impact. You can't have a direct impact that you can see as well as when
you're down with the soldiers."
As an elected office-holder, particularly one engaged in his first campaign,
after being appointed to an open seat almost two years ago, Stivers also
could have avoided the war by taking advantage of an exemption that would
have allowed him to stay stateside. "That was never anything I've ever
considered," Stivers said, sitting in his office at Rickenbacker Air National
Guard Base, noting that none of the several hundred men and women under
his command had the same option.
"If I'm going to say I'm a leader of these soldiers, how can you say you're a
leader of these solders and then not deploy with them when they have to
go? Because they don't have an option, I'm certainly not going to consider
the option for myself."
When the 237th leaves Camp Atterbury in Indiana sometime next month,
after completing its final training before heading for Iraq or Kuwait, Stivers
will join a short list of deployed, elected office-holders. In Ohio, Bill Saxbe
was deployed to the Korean War. Former state Rep. E.J. Thomas was
deployed to the first Gulf War. Last year, John Boccieri (D-New Middletown)
was deployed to Iraq. Boccieri returned to Ohio only last week, although his
duties as an airman have given him flexibility to return home for stints
during the year. (MICHAEL J. MAURER, ThisWeek Staff Writer )
November 5, 2004 - Hillsdale woman finds long-lost dad, who's Iraq-bound
HILLSDALE, Mich. (AP) -- A 33-year-old woman who met her father for the
first time Saturday soon will have to say farewell as he heads off to use his
explosives expertise in Iraq as a member of the Indiana National Guard.
"I'm worried," Jen Benson, 33, said of her father, Ronald G. Bucher of
Laporte, Ind. "I'm scared because I just found him. I'm going to write him
and pray for his safety." Benson's birth mother, Candance, was adopted
from a German orphanage at the end of World War II by Helen Kane and her
U.S. serviceman husband, W.R. Kane.
Candance Kane met Benson's father at a Halloween party and soon married
but separated before Benson was born. "I basically stayed with my
grandparents from then on," Benson told the Hillsdale Daily Newss. When
Benson was 3, her mother died of a drug overdose, and Benson's
grandparents adopted her. Helen Kane died soon after, and W.R. Kane
remarried. He and his new wife corresponded with Benson's paternal
grandmother but did not allow Bucher to have contact with Benson.
Over the years, Benson had tried unsuccessfully to find her father. Then
about six months ago, her grandfather began sending Benson items that
had belonged to her mother. Among them was a scrapbook containing
letters, pictures and other items. On Oct. 28, Benson and friend and co-
worker Mary McCaskey were going through the scrapbook and came across
a reference to Bucher's brother Frank. The two women turned to the
Internet.
"Mary and I printed off all the Frank Buchers in the country, and it was the
third phone call," Benson said.
A shock came when Benson learned her father was living only a short drive
away in Laporte, Ind. Benson spoke to her father by phone late that night
and received yet another shock. "He said, "We have to (see each other)
Saturday because I'm leaving for Iraq," Benson said.
Benson took McCaskey with her for the meeting Saturday. "I had no
nervousness ... but when we pulled into Laporte it was surreal, it was like a
dream," Benson said. Benson found out she looks like her father and has a
half-sister in California. She also found that her father had never stopped
looking for her.
"He had a photo album of all the pictures my grandmother had sent," she
said. "He said he felt guilty, and I don't ever want him to feel that way
because he made the best decision for me." Now Benson is facing another
worry that tens of thousands of American families are facing -- the thought
of a loved one in peril in Iraq. Bucher left for training at Camp Atterbury in
Indiana on Monday.
Bucher will have a chance to see his daughter one more time before he
leaves. He should have a four-day break around Thanksgiving and should be
able to meet his grandchildren, Benson said. She said 11-year-old Peyton,
10-year-old Donni Leigh and 8-year-old Isabella are eager to meet the
grandfather they have heard about so often. (Detroit Free Press)
November 8, 2004 - Church adopts troops at Camp Atterbury
Services are more crowded these days at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in
Edinburgh. While most of the congregation wears their Sunday best, some
church-goers come in head-to-toe camouflage. About 165 people squeeze
into pews, crowd a balcony and pull up extra chairs to attend Sunday Mass
at the church that was built to hold about 150.
The hilltop church, on the town’s west side, has been flooded with
attendees since waves of Army reservists started arriving at Camp
Atterbury in mid-September for training. The Army Reserve’s 98th Division,
based out of Rochester, N.Y., includes troops from New York, New Jersey
and New England. After several weeks of training, the soldiers will leave the
Edinburgh training and mobilization station for Iraq, where they will train
the country’s national army for at least one year.
The reservists left behind their families, homes and jobs to complete the
mission. So for many, the church and its members help to make the Catholic
soldiers feel closer to home. When Atterbury officials notified the church
about the incoming troops, church staff and members decided they wanted
to do what they could to adopt the 98th Division, Monsignor Fred Easton
said.
Most of the soldiers who attend services wear camouflage-colored rosaries
around their necks. Church staff ordered the strings of beads from an
Indianapolis business as gifts for the troops, said Deb Thurston, the
church’s music coordinator. Families gave the soldiers sunglasses and
homemade cookies as a thank-you for the sacrifices they continue to make.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Easton said about the extra attendees. “I just wish
the church was larger for them.” But church staff have a backup plan if
more members and troops show up than the building can hold. Willing
parishioners will forego the first service for a second Mass one hour later,
said Jean Martin, pastoral assistant at Holy Trinity.
Maj. Ed Griffin, a married father of two who works as a technical writer for a
computer software company in New Hampshire, attends Mass regularly back
home. So Holy Trinity is a welcome substitute for the practicing Catholic
during his short stay in central Indiana.
The friendly smiles, warm conversation and fellowship provide the 19-year
reservist with a little piece of home, he said. “Home is no farther away
than the nearest church,” Griffin said after he and nearly a dozen other
soldiers kneeled to pray in the church’s entryway.
Maj. Brian Adelson has attended the church’s services every Sunday since
he arrived at Atterbury last month. The husband and father of two from
Saratoga Springs, N.Y., said he makes it a priority to balance his military
duties and spiritual needs.
“The job we are going out to do is dangerous,” said Adelson, a 20-year
reservist. The services and generous church members give him strength for
the upcoming mission, he said.
Mary Ann Hudecke, a 13-year church member and Columbus resident, has
enjoyed watching the flurry of activity as staff and families rally around
looking for another coffee pot or more doughnuts to put in the church’s
Community Center for the added visitors. The tight quarters are
overshadowed by the warm exchanges made between soldiers and church
regulars, Hudecke said. Many troops sit alongside church members and chat
about their families, hometowns and churches back home before the
service.
“I absolutely don’t mind the church being more crowded,” said Pam
Thompson, a 24-year church member. “We’ll make room for (the troops).”
The reservists get help making their church connections from Atterbury
training officers who note religious preferences on the soldiers’ paperwork.
Buses transport the soldiers from the base. (By BLYTHE RICHARDS, Franklin
Daily Journal (IN) staff writer)
November 11, 2004 - Veterans honored while others train
Pressure, for military police it's about knowing your enemy's weaknesses.
For soldiers heading to war it's a way of life. For Major Deedra Thombleson,
"It's kind of nerve-racking and exciting." "There's a little fear of the
unknown," adds Sgt. Shane Stephens. "I think like, anything, not knowing
exactly where you might go." Pictures of the assault on Fallujah fill the
television screens as the US military reports 178 American soldiers were
wounded and 18 killed in action.
At Camp Atterbury, the 939th Military Police Detachment based in
Indianapolis is among more than 2,500 troops training for their own
missions overseas. And if they think about the dangers, they don't show it.
"As far as reservations, no, I'm proud to do it," says Sgt. Bryan Mason.
Thursday, the group practiced tactics designed to control prisoners without
resorting to gunfire. "A lot of the information we get from troops getting
back, we use that in training," points out Mason. Much of what they learn
comes from the experiences of soldiers who've fought before them. Their
willingness to put themselves on the line, it's own common thread that
binds them to a longstanding American military tradition.
Colonel Tom McKevitt says, "A lot of these units haven't been activated or
deployed since World War II." Thombleson adds, "They feel proud to serve
in the military now because of the heritage." And Mason says his
"grandmother gave me my grandfather's Purple Heart from World War II.
She told me, now I had one I didn't need one of my own."
Just as they did decades ago, citizen soldiers step up as protectors of
freedom. And although the pressure is great, the will is greater.
Thombleson says these soldiers want to "show the American people we're
capable and trained to do what we've got to do." (Kris Kirschner/Channel
13, Indianapolis Eyewitness News)
November 13, 2004 - Cities worry restricted airspace could hurt airports
COLUMBUS, Ind. -- Several cities are worried their airports and economies
could suffer if the Air Force wins approval to train in controlled air space
near two southern Indiana military bases.
The Federal Aviation Administration, at the request of the Air Force, has
proposed creating military operations areas near Camp Atterbury, about 30
miles south of Indianapolis, and the Jefferson Proving Grounds north of
Madison.
Military operations areas are sections of airspace where the military can
train. The designations do not restrict most planes, but they tend to scare
away pilots who do not want to encounter F-16s, said Chris Dancy of the
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, based in Frederick, Md. "The
military will tell you anyone can fly through a MOA," Dancy said.
"Technically, yes, that's true. But our surveys tell us overwhelmingly pilots
will fly around it."
Some of proposed military operations areas begin at 500 feet above ground,
a very restrictive altitude, airport officials said. Dancy said they usually
extend to around 15,000 feet above ground.
Among the mayors and airport directors concerned after the possible
designation is Columbus Municipal Airport Director Rod Blasdell. He and his
board of aviation commissioners have spearheaded efforts to raise
awareness about the issue. "If I'm an industry that wants to locate here,
that's something I'm going to take into consideration," Blasdell said.
The Columbus Municipal Airport last week hosted a meeting with about 40
people, including pilots, businessmen and officials from surrounding cities,
to talk about the issue ahead of a Dec. 6 deadline set by the FAA to
comment on the issue. Pilots for Cummins Inc., who make about 24 flights
each week out of the Columbus Municipal Airport, are concerned about the
possible designation, company spokesman Mark Land said. The company
has not taken a stance on the issue yet, he said.
"The pilots' concerns are that if these areas were instituted, it would cost us
more air time and more money. We would have to detour everything that
came in from the south." Seymour has invested millions of dollars into
navigational equipment to update its Freeman Municipal Airport, Mayor Jim
Bullard said. "Any time that we have a possible interruption in our airport
operation, it brings concerns," Bullard said. Seymour pilot Jack Hildreth
said the military operations areas would create the biggest disruptions in air
traffic that he has seen in his 30 years of flying in southern Indiana.
(Associated Press)
November 17, 2004 - Pentagon To Cut Boy Scouts From Bases
CHICAGO - The Pentagon has agreed to warn military bases worldwide not
to directly sponsor Boy Scout troops, partially resolving claims that the
government has engaged in religious discrimination by supporting a group
that requires members to believe in God.
The settlement announced Monday is part of a series of legal challenges in
recent years over how closely the government should be aligned with the
Boy Scouts of America, a venerable organization that boasts a membership
of more than 3.2 million members.
Civil liberties advocates have set their sights on the organization's policies
because the group bans openly gay scout leaders and compels members to
swear an oath of duty to God. The ACLU believes that direct government
sponsorship of such a program amounts to discrimination.
"If our Constitution's promise of religious liberty is to be a reality, the
government should not be administering religious oaths or discriminating
based on religious beliefs," said ACLU attorney Adam Schwartz.
The Pentagon said it has long had a rule against sponsorship of non-federal
organizations and denied the rule had been violated. But it agreed to send a
message to posts worldwide warning them not to sponsor Boy Scout troops
or other such groups.
The rule does not prevent service members from leading Scout troops
unofficially on their own time, and Scouts will still be able to hold meetings
on areas of military bases where civilian organizations are allowed to hold
events.
The settlement does not resolve other ACLU claims involving government
spending that benefits the Boy Scouts, such as money used to prepare a
Virginia military base for the Boy Scout Jamboree and grants used by state
and local governments to benefit the Boy Scouts, Schwartz said.
He said the Pentagon spends $2 million every year to prepare the Virginia
base for the jamboree, held once every four years. He said the Defense
Department also makes annual allocations of $100,000 to support Boy Scout
units on military bases overseas and $100,000 to improve Boy Scout
properties, such as summer camps.
Attorney Marcia Berman, who represented the Defense Department,
declined to comment on the settlement Monday. But Justice Department
spokesman Charles Miller said the message that will be sent to bases
represents "a clarification of an existing rule that DOD personnel cannot be
involved in an official capacity."
The original ACLU lawsuit named as defendants the Department of Defense,
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Chicago Board
of Education. The schools settled, agreeing not to engage in official
sponsorship of scouting activities. (Associated Press )
November 17, 2004 - Amvets adopts reservists Group raising funds to make
holidays happy for local unit headed to Mideast.
The 980th Quartermaster Army Reserve unit has been called to duty again
and will spend Christmas, and probably the next several months, in the
Middle East. But the unit won't leave without something to open Christmas
morning.
Amvets Post 22, 520 Pine St., has taken the 980th under its wing. The post
hopes its Operation Christmas for the Troops campaign will raise enough
money to send each soldier a $20 gift card that can be used at a post
exchange.
The 980th, which trains out of Bay City's James J. O'Rourke Army Reserve
Center, is now at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, and officials say it likely will be
in Iraq or Kuwait sometime in December.
There are about 140 soldiers in the 980th, a support unit that is trained to
provide supplies, transport gasoline and purify water. The unit was
activated in October and will be on orders for 18 months. It was also
activated in February 2003, but spent about three months at Fort McCoy in
Wisconsin before returning home in May.
Folks from the Amvets group collected more than $1,000 Saturday for
Operation Christmas for the Troops in about two hours from drivers in
Bangor Township.
This is the second year the Amvets group has adopted a unit stationed in
Iraq. Last year, $10,000 was raised and 300 soldiers from two units all
received $30 gift certificates. (By Patti Brandt, Bay City Times Writer )
November 18, 2004 - Call-ups of Hoosiers hit post-9/11 peak
More than 5,600 state-based forces have been
called to service.
Marine Gunnery Sgt.
Mauricio Torres was
among 300 mourners at a
memorial service
Wednesday for Marine
Sgt. Morgan Strader. -Joe Vitti / The Star
Several units from the
Indiana National
Guard and the Army
Reserve -- totaling
more than 600 soldiers
-- are training this
month at Camp
Atterbury south of
Indianapolis. The
soldiers expect to be
on active duty for up
to 18 months.
Indiana's contribution of National Guard
soldiers and reservists for Iraq and the war on
terror has reached its highest level since the
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
More than 600 Indiana National Guard soldiers
are training this month at Camp Atterbury
south of Indianapolis. They are among more
than 5,600 Indiana-based troops headed to
duty or serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other
hot spots, according to a Department of
Defense tally released Wednesday. Those
numbers include more than 100 reservists from
Air Force, Navy and Marine units.
The Hoosier buildup comes as the fighting in
Iraq has entered one of its bloodiest stages.
This month, 91 U.S. troops have died in Iraq,
making November the second-deadliest month
since American forces invaded the country in
March 2003, Pentagon records show. The worst
month was April, with 135 deaths, when the
insurgency intensified and Marines fought
fierce battles in Fallujah.
Although most of the Indiana reserve units are
not typically considered combat outfits, the lack
of a clear front line in Iraq puts clerks and truck
drivers in as much danger as riflemen.
Just two years ago, the state had 63 Guard and
Army reservists on active duty. By May 2003,
two months after the start of the Iraq war, the
Defense Department said 3,467 had been called
up.
Soldiers now training at Atterbury belong to
four Indiana Guard units and an Army Reserve
unit. The once-quiet base has been transformed
since the war began and now trains mainly
rear-echelon troops in everything from
surviving an ambush to evacuating the
wounded -- vital skills as bloody urban combat
continues in Iraq.
More than 400 soldiers
in the 113th
Engineering Battalion,
which is based in Gary,
are expected to go to
Iraq, Indiana Guard
spokeswoman Capt.
Lisa Kopczynski said.
Engineering battalions
provide rehabilitation
and reconstruction for
facilities such as
schools and hospitals,
as well as the removal
of debris from military
vehicle routes.
Other Indiana-based
units training at
Atterbury will join the
global war on terror:
• 1438th
Transportation
Company, Edinburgh, a
truck company with
more than 150 soldiers
who are trained to
haul supplies.
• 939th Military Police
Detachment,
Indianapolis, and the
938th Military Police
Detachment, Michigan
City. Both units have
more than 25 troops.
• 215th Quartermaster
Company,
Jeffersonville, an Army
Reserve unit trained to
provide supplies and
logistical support. The
unit's size was
unavailable.
With their supporting roles, such as issuing equipment and hauling fuel,
these troops are seen as key to winning the war.
"We always refer to the Army as the Green Machine. What do you suppose it
is that kept the Green Machine running?" said Tim Lomperis, a St. Louis
University professor of international security. "The tip of the spear is kept
fluid, dynamic and mobile by all of these support units."
Traci Estes' husband, Roger, is in a support post with the Indiana Army
National Guard in Afghanistan, helping ensure that soldiers in the Afghan
army get their paychecks. She believes he is relatively safe but fears a
potential ripple effect of terrorism spurred by the heavy fighting in Fallujah.
Word of the toll this month in Iraq hit her hard, and she said she was in
tears when her husband's most recent phone call came through. "I could
only think about their families and the grief they must be experiencing," she
said.
The training at Atterbury tries to re-create conditions in Iraq, said Lt. Col.
Thomas McKevitt, the Army's 3rd Brigade operations and training officer.
Soldiers ride in convoys through mock villages and fire live rounds at popup targets.
Soldiers also learn how to treat the wounded. "If you can stop the bleeding,
treat for shock and administer an IV," McKevitt said, "you have just
prolonged the life of that soldier."
Army Sgt. James Daniel Faulkner's comrades didn't get that chance. The
combat engineer from Clarksville was killed instantly when a bomb
exploded near his vehicle outside Baghdad in September. Two other soldiers
riding in the vehicle were injured.
Faulkner's stepfather, Greg Gilkey, said the bomb was detonated from a
distance. "It wouldn't matter how he died. It's difficult to take. But I guess
I could accept it a little easier (if) . . . they were in a head-on battle and
knew what they were up against." Gilkey said he has met some of the other
soldiers in Faulkner's unit and prays for their safety. "We'd like for
everybody to finish the job and get home."
About 160 members of the Indiana National Guard's 38th Infantry Division
finished their jobs -- keeping the peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina -- and
returned home early Tuesday morning.
While there is one Indiana Guard unit in Iraq, the 138th Personnel Services
Battalion, the Guard at one point had more than 1,200 infantry in the Middle
East. Those units have returned.
Among those soldiers was Spc. Lee Greenamyer, who came home to his
family in Angola just more than a year ago after serving in Iraq with Fort
Wayne's 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment.
His unit could be called back to Iraq, but he isn't worried yet.
"I know that the possibility exists," said Greenamyer, a 27-year-old
maintenance worker for the Indiana Department of Transportation. (By
Richard D. Walton and Jon Murray, IndyStar.com)
November 18, 2004 - Indiana’s troop commitment climbs. Camp Atterbury
is as busy as it’s been since the Korean War.
INDIANAPOLIS – More Indiana service members are serving or preparing
for duty in the Middle East than at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks, the Department of Defense said.
More than 600 National Guardsmen are training this month at Camp
Atterbury near Edinburgh, The Indianapolis Star reported today. They are
among more than 5,600 Indiana-based troops headed to duty or serving in
Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots, according to military figures.
One Indiana Guard unit – the Indianapolis-based 138th Personnel Services
Battalion – is serving in Iraq.
Thousands of troops from across the country have been trained this year at
Atterbury, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis. It is the biggest
mobilization of troops at the post since the Korean War, military officials
said.
The training at Atterbury is designed to simulate conditions in Iraq, said Lt.
Col. Thomas McKevitt, operations and training officer for the Army’s 3rd
Brigade. Soldiers ride in convoys through mock villages, shoot live rounds
at pop-up targets and learn how to treat the wounded. “If you can stop the
bleeding, treat for shock and administer an IV, you have just prolonged the
life of that soldier,” McKevitt said.
Many of the Indiana units are support units, but the nature of the conflict in
Iraq can put truck drivers and others in danger from roadside bombs,
ambushes and other hazards. Nine of the 33 Indiana service members who
died in Iraq were killed by land mines, roadside bombs and other
explosives, according to the Department of Defense.
One was Army Sgt. James D. Faulkner, of Clarksville. The 23-year-old
combat engineer died Sept. 8 in Baghdad when a bomb detonated near the
military vehicle in which he was riding. “It wouldn’t matter how he died.
It’s difficult to take,” said Faulkner’s stepfather, Greg Gilkey. “But I guess I
could accept it a little easier (if) ... they were in a head-on battle and knew
what they were up against.” (From The Associated Press)
November 20, 2004 - Chemical and Biological Quality of Surface Water at
the U.S. Army Atterbury Reserve Forces Training Area near Edinburgh,
Indiana, September 2000 through July 2001
By Martin R. Risch, U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations
Report 03-4149
ABSTRACT
A base-wide assessment of surface-water quality at the U.S. Army
Atterbury Reserve Forces Training Area near Edinburgh, Indiana, examined
short-term and long-term quality of surface water flowing into, across, and
out of a 33,760-acre study area. The 30-day geometric-mean concentrations
of fecal-indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli) in water samples from all 16
monitoring sites on streams in the study area were greater than the Indiana
recreational water-quality standard. None of the bacteria concentrations in
samples from four lakes exceeded the standard. Half the samples with
bacteria concentrations greater than the single-sample standard contained
chemical tracers potentially associated with human sewage. Increased
turbidity of water samples was related statistically to increased bacteria
concentration. Lead concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 micrograms per
liter were detected in water samples at seven monitoring sites. Lead in one
sample collected during high-stream-flow conditions was greater than the
calculated Indiana water-quality standard. With the exception of
Escherichia coli and lead, 211 of 213 chemical constituents analyzed in
water samples did not exceed Indiana water-quality standards. Out of 131
constituents analyzed in streambed-sediment and fish-tissue samples from
three sites in the Common Impact Area for weapons training, the largest
concentrations overall were detected for copper, lead, manganese,
strontium, and zinc. Fish-community integrity, based on diversity and
pollution tolerance, was rated poor at one of those three sites. Compared
with State criteria, the fish-community data indicated 8 of 10 stream
reaches in the study area could be categorized as "fully supporting"
aquatic-life uses.
November 23, 2004 - Atterbury troops get long holiday weekend
Thousands of troops stationed at Camp Atterbury are getting a four-day
holiday break before being sent overseas after Thanksgiving.
About 4,000 troops at the Edinburgh military base will be on leave from
Wednesday to Sunday, according to Maj. Mike Brady in Atterbury’s public
affairs office.
When they return, about 3,200 troops will be deployed overseas at different
times to Iraq, he said.
“We’re mobilizing soldiers and wanted to give them an opportunity to go
back home for Thanksgiving and see their families,” Brady said.
Troops are wrapping up training today before the break starts and making
sure they have rides home to see families before departing for foreign
countries.
Brady described the number of troops being sent overseas as normal for
this time of year, but he did not know how many had been sent home for a
holiday break in the past.
Camp Atterbury is a 33,000-acre military base in Edinburgh that stretches
across southern Johnson County and northern Bartholomew and Brown
counties. The base serves as an active military mobilization station for
National Guard and Army Reserves.
The break affects 25 units, two of which are from the Indianapolis area: the
1438 Transportation Company with 175 soldiers and a 50-member military
police unit known as the Ninth 39th.
They will be able to leave by noon Wednesday, Brady said.
Fewer than 200 soldiers will remain behind to staff the base during the 96hour holiday break, he said.
Some have already taken leave, and others will be able to get a pass in
coming weeks, Brady said. Particular units might have different formations
for dismissing troops. Families are welcome on the base to pick up soldiers.
“We have soldiers that are spread out across the Midwest and other parts of
the country,” Brady said.
Troops are scrambling to get rides home to other Midwest states and across
the country as the holiday break approaches, according to agents at some
car rental agencies throughout Johnson County.
“We’re pretty much sold out,” said Jennifer Rankin at Enterprise Rent-A-Car
in Franklin. “We have a lot going to troops.”
Rankin was not able to provide a number of cars that had been rented out
by Monday, saying the number varies for each location.
Some of the car rental companies contacted Monday said their rental
numbers are up this week because of Atterbury troops.
Most of the rentals are for the weekend, from Wednesday to Monday,
company employees said.
For example, Thrifty Car Rental in Franklin has 15 rentals for Wednesday
instead of the typical five or six a week, owner Ken Tearman said
Wednesday.
“We see this kind of activity when they’re rotating troops, either coming
back or being deployed,” he said.
At the Avis location on U.S. 31 in Greenwood, employee Sherry Hall said the
company had rented vehicles to about a dozen Atterbury troops by Monday
afternoon.
“You think of everything they do for us, the least we get can do is make
sure they can get a ride home to see their families,” she said. (By MICHAEL
W. HOSKINS, Daily Journal staff writer)
November 24, 2005 - Marine sacrifices his life for others in grenade blast
FALLUJAH, Iraq - Sgt. Rafael Peralta built a reputation as a man who always
put his Marines' interests ahead of his own. He showed that again, when he
made the ultimate sacrifice of his life Tuesday, by shielding his fellow
Marines from a grenade blast.
"It's stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and Tarawa
Marines who won the Medal of Honor," said Lance Cpl. Rob Rogers, 22, of
Tallahassee, Fla., one of Peralta's platoon mates in 1st Platoon, Alpha
Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
Peralta, 25, as platoon scout, wasn't even assigned to the assault team that
entered the insurgent safe house in northern Fallujah, Marines said. Despite
an assignment that would have allowed him to avoid such dangerous duty,
he
regularly asked squad leaders if he could join their assault teams, they
said. One of the first Marines to enter the house, Peralta was wounded in
the face by rifle fire from a room near the entry door, said Lance Cpl. Adam
Morrison, 20, of Tacoma, who was in the house when Peralta was first
wounded.
Moments later, an insurgent rolled a fragmentation grenade into the area
where a wounded Peralta and the other Marines were seeking cover.
As Morrison and another Marine scrambled to escape the blast, pounding
against a locked door, Peralta grabbed the grenade and cradled it into his
body, Morrison said. While one Marine was badly wounded by shrapnel
from the blast, the Marines said they believe more lives would have been
lost if not for Peralta's selfless act.
"He saved half my fire team," said Cpl. Brannon Dyer, 27, of Blairsville,
Ga.
The Marines said such a sacrifice would be perfectly in character for
Peralta, a Mexico native who lived in San Diego and gained U.S. citizenship
after joining the Marines.
"He'd stand up for his Marines to an insane point," Rogers said.
Rogers and others remembered Peralta as a squared-away Marine, so
meticulous about uniform standards that he sent his camouflage uniform to
be pressed while training in Kuwait before entering Iraq. But mostly they
remembered acts of selflessness: offering career advice, giving a buddy a
ride home from the bar, teaching salsa dance steps in the barracks.
While Alpha Company was still gathering information, and a formal finding
on
Peralta's death is likely months away, not a single Marine in Alpha Company
doubted the account of Peralta's act of sacrifice.
"I believe it," said Alpha's commander, Capt. Lee Johnson. "He was that
kind
of Marine." (Gordon Trowbridge, The Army Times)
November 24, 2004 - A holiday with family before heading to Iraq .
TV, a game of cards and a good movie; anything to pass the time. For Sgt.
Shane Lamartz of Carmel, "It's kind of challenging to stay focused." For a
month the 45 members of the 939th Military Police Detachment thought of
nothing but their intense training at Camp Atterbury. Sgt. Michael
Alexander of Indianapolis has "seen enough mud, enough training, enough
pushups with the forehead to last a lifetime."
In a few weeks they leave for Iraq. Wednesday, all they could think about
was home. Sgt. Lamartz has "my wife, two cats, mother-in-law coming to
town. While Sgt. Bryan Mason of Noblesville is "going back to Ohio to see
her family, my family." Specialist Jessica Thompson from Columbus says,
".It's probably going to be our last holiday before we leave."
It's be four days of leave to catch up on a lifetime.
"Four days, it doesn't sound like much," says Alexander, "but it's going to
be extraordinary." The final few details remind them the break is
temporary. But for now, none of that matters. "From this point everything
is uncertain, so you want to try to cover what you can, do what you can,"
says Alexander. Lamartz wants "just to let her know we're in good hands,
take care of each other."
For the little time they have to spend with loved ones they are thankful.
"We just got married, so I'm excited to have him back for a couple of days,"
says one new wife. Their mission waits in Iraq, for this weekend they're
needed at home.
The 939th Military Police Detachment is based out of Indianapolis. Once
they get back from their four-day break they'll prepare to be deployed to
Iraq, likely sometime in early to mid-December. They are one of 25 units in
surrounding states activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom. (Kris
Kirschner/Channel 13, Indianapolis Eyewitness News)
November 26, 2004 - Home for the holidays - Local military unit returns for
Thanksgiving
Kevin Graff, The
Staff Sgt. Shea McCracken of Newark stepped
off a bus Wednesday afternoon before
embracing his wife, Abbie, and daughters, Erin,
12, and Courtney, 9. The family planned to
head off for a Mexican dinner, at the girls'
request. "It's going to be the last holiday we're
together for about a year," McCracken said.
McCracken, 36, reunited with his family
Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday after
spending three weeks at Camp Atterbury, Ind.,
with the Ohio Army National Guard 211th
Maintenance Company, based out of Newark.
He's looking forward to sharing Thanksgiving
dinner with his family at their home.
The guardsmen originally left on Nov. 3 for
mobilization training at Camp Atterbury, and
will head back to camp on Sunday. In
December, they'll leave for the Middle East.
Advocate
Members of the Ohio
Army National Guard
211th Maintenance Co.
are greeted by family and
friends after they unload
from a pair of buses
Wednesday at the
Newark Armory. The unit
returned from duty in
Indiana for a
Thanksgiving break.
AP
Staff Sgt. Roger Rowland
is hugged and kissed by
wife, Becky, as his
mother Donna Rowland,
at right, comes out to
greet him.
About 200 members of the company arrived at the National Guard Armory
on Hollar Lane at about 4 p.m. Wednesday on two chartered buses.
Army veteran Edward McDonald of Newark knows what it's like to reunite
with family after being separated for long lengths of time. That's why he
helped arrange transportation for the more than 200 soldiers.
"They're anxious to get home," said McDonald, 66, chair of the Ohio
Veterans Association, just before the troops made their way into Newark on
Wednesday. Abbie McCracken, 37, played a major role in raising money,
along with McDonald and local volunteers, for the soldiers' temporary
homecoming. Transportation will cost $3,000 for the round trip, with a
$1,000 discount from Brewster, the Martinsburg-based bus company. Any
money raised in excess of the goal will be used for family support for the
211th or for the needs of other Licking County soldiers and their families.
When the soldiers found out about their short ticket home, some rented cars
for the trip. Others took advantage of the bus ride and traveled as a group
back to Newark. Lt. Claudio Garcia, 34, of Worthington, is glad he has a
chance to say goodbye to those he wasn't able to before he left. "It's an
emotional roller coaster," he said.
Although it's Staff Sgt. Roger Rowland's second time being deployed -- in
the early '90s, he was sent to the Middle East -- the 39-year-old Zanesville
resident echoed sentiments similar to Claudio. It's even more difficult now
that he has a 3-year-old son, Austin, which is a change from when he first
left for overseas.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael Wires, 47, of Martinsburg, also agreed. He hopes to
throw the football around with his son, Christopher, 8, during his stay at
home.
"It's going to be hard to leave this time," he said.
The activation is the largest military deployment from Licking County since
World War II. It's the first time the maintenance company has been
activated in its 55-year history. (MELISSA KNIFIC, Ohio Advocate Reporter
)
November 29, 2004 -
Model soldiers
When troops are sent to Camp Atterbury for training, they are placed in a
setting designed to look like Iraq and other trouble spots overseas.
They wade through mud in camouflage uniforms, training on weapons,
controlling prisoners and keeping military Humvees together in a group.
Civilians are hired to act like Iraqi citizens, wandering the camp and
organizing protests that troops might see overseas.
Camp Atterbury creates the foreign setting so well that military leaders are
sending more troops to the Indiana military base, modeling other locations
on it and channeling money to pay for upgrades there.
More than six times the typical amount of troops is stationed at Camp
Atterbury, the highest level since the camp was activated in February 2003.
The military has not relied so heavily on Camp Atterbury since the Korean
War, said Sgt. Les Newport in Atterbury’s public affairs office.
“Atterbury exemplifies what we’re trying to do,” said Lt. Col. Richard Steele,
public affairs officer for the 1st Army in Georgia, which oversees Atterbury.
“The strength of Atterbury is its ability to prepare citizen soldiers for what
they’ll see, so they aren’t surprised. They’re in Iraq for all practical
purposes.”
Troops at Atterbury are civilian soldiers in the National Guard and Army
Reserves who have been called to duty. Training is designed to simulate
conditions overseas in trouble spots like Iraq and help sharpen soldiers’
skills to deal with wartime environments, Steele said.
“The war we’re facing has no rear areas or front lines,” Steele said. “It
doesn’t matter what kind of unit you’re in, you face a lot of the same
threats. Every soldier must be able to function in infantry.”
The training techniques have caused military leaders to send as many
soldiers through Atterbury’s training as possible, he said.
More than 4,000 troops are currently training at the military post, and about
3,200 of them will be deployed in coming months, Newport said.
Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Drum in New York have decreased
amounts of troops training during the winter, Newport said. Both bases are
much larger than Atterbury, but snow, ice and colder weather slow the
amount of troops training and shipping out.
“We’ve hit a peak,” Newport said, noting that about 600 troops are typically
stationed at Atterbury. “This is the largest concentration we’ve had here
since being activated.”
An estimated 20,000 troops from Atterbury have been deployed overseas
and to locations around the country since February 2003, he said.
Currently, about 25 units are stationed at the base; two are from the
Indianapolis area: the 1438th Transportation Company with 175 soldiers
and the 50-member unit known as the 939th Military Police Detachment.
Most of the civilian military volunteers returned Sunday from a four-day
holiday break. They are now awaiting orders for deployment to Iraq in midDecember as part of the third rotation of troops being sent overseas to Iraq.
Before the break, some soldiers in the 939th Detachment spent time wading
through mud and practicing how to properly fill out paperwork, control
prisoners and keep vehicle convoys from getting separated.
In their barracks, some quizzed each other with flash cards on foreign
words.
The military is trying to re-create Atterbury’s training program at other
military locations, Steele said.
Mississippi-based Camp Shelby is being structured like Atterbury to mobilize
Guard and Army Reserve soldiers, Steele said.
Nearly 183,000 troops in the National Guard and Army Reserve had been
mobilized on bases across the country as of last week, according to the
Department of Defense’s Web site. A total 157,000 are currently on active
duty.
Newport said he expects continual deployments from Atterbury next year,
some during the early part of 2005, he said.
“Atterbury has seen an increase in troops because they exemplify our
training philosophy,” Steele said. “It’s a premier training and mobilization
station, and I don’t see that changing.”
The Army granted the base an extension earlier this year as a mobilization
base through February, but Newport said the base will remain active until
all troops return home.
Before the Army granted Camp Atterbury its official designation early last
year, the Indiana National Guard had envisioned a larger role for the base,
which is 33,000 acres in Edinburgh and stretches across southern Johnson
County and northern Brown and Bartholomew counties.
In 2002, Congress approved upgrades and an $8 million computerized battle
simulation center that is currently under construction, Newport said. (By
MICHAEL W. HOSKINS, Daily Journal staff writer)