Troy's Turn,...

[SEATJERKER]

... Troy, New York, "Home of Uncle Sam", and the Headquarters of the 42nd will be heading out,...

... with 9/11 on their mind,...


By: Robert Burns , The Associated Press 03/02/2004


WASHINGTON - About 1,000 soldiers in the New York National Guard will begin preparing to go to Iraq after the Pentagon put them on notice Monday that they may be mobilized.


The alert order was issued to the 42nd Infantry Division headquartered in Troy and three other major units around the country as part of a larger force, probably to total around 100,000 active duty and reserve troops expected to take over for the contingent just beginning a one-year tour.
The Pentagon's alert order applies to approximately 1,000 soldiers in units around New York state with the 42nd Infantry Division, known as the "Rainbow Division."
Those soldiers constitute roughly a third of all New York Army National Guard troops, out of 14,000 42nd infantry soldiers around the country.
"Units from Buffalo to Albany to New York City are involved in this alert order," said Scott Sandman, a spokesman for New York's division of military and naval affairs. "This signals to our troops that they might start squaring away some of those family issues and things of that nature."
The soldier-readiness process can usually be accomplished during drill weekends, he said.
"There have been ongoing discussions with the federal command that a decision might be imminent," said Sandman.
The division has no indication of when a decision on mobilization would be made, he said.
One Troy Guardsman said he is preparing for possible deployment now. The 44-year-old, who asked not to be identified, is a single parent with a 14-year-old daughter.
"I'll figure something out," he said about arranging childcare. If nothing else can be arranged, he said his daughter could move back with her mother, but it will mean she would have to transfer from Troy schools to a high school in Brooklyn.
He also said he must arrange to have someone pay his bills and rent. "Someone is going to have to manage these things," he commented.
Soldiers deployed to Iraq are first sent to an Army post for a period of additional training and then shipped overseas.
Elements of the 42nd have already been deployed overseas since Sept. 11, but the entire Division has not been mobilized since World War II, when 42nd troops helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp.
The Pentagon did not say how long they would be on active duty, suggesting it may be less than the 12-month tours required of Guard and Reserve members now in Iraq and of those heading to Iraq this spring. Under the presidential authority used to mobilize for Iraq, they could be kept on active duty for up to two years.
The length of their mobilization depends on how much training they need as well as the requirements of the Central Command commander, Gen. John Abizaid, who manages the Iraq operation.
The Pentagon said additional Guard forces will be alerted and mobilized for Iraq duty, but did not say how many or from which states. Officials said these probably would be combat support and service support units that will be mobilized after the combat units go on active duty.
The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment from Tennessee has about 4,500 members, and at least 4,000 of them have been placed on alert, according to Tennessee Guard spokesman Randy Harris. They include three cavalry squadrons, headquartered in Athens, Kingsport and Cookeville, as well as a support squadron based in Knoxville. Harris said the 278th has not been mobilized for active duty since the Korean War, more than 50 years ago.
The Louisiana Guard's 256th Infantry Brigade, with about 3,800 soldiers, received its alert order Monday, said Dusty Shenofsky, spokeswoman for the state adjutant general's office. She said the brigade was on active duty most recently during the 1991 Gulf War.
The affected units include the 1st battalion of the 156th Armor in Shreveport, the 2nd battalion of the 156th Infantry in Abbeville, and the 3rd battalion of the 156th Infantry in Lake Charles.
"The folks in these units will need to start letting their civilian employers know," Shenofsky said. "They will also want to start doing things like making sure their medical records are up to date, making sure they have wills and arranging for child care if they are single parents."
The 116th Armored Brigade, with units in Idaho and Oregon, includes Oregon's 3rd battalion of the 116th Cavalry, headquartered in La Grande, as well as elements of the 1st battalion of the 82nd Cavalry, at Bend.
Spokeswoman Kay Frystad said the Oregon Guard already has 2,400 soldiers on active duty for Iraq, including 700 from an infantry battalion that is about to enter Iraq.
The alerts were issued well in advance in order to give the Guard members adequate time to prepare for the likelihood of being mobilized. Many Guardsmen and some members of Congress complained that earlier mobilizations for Iraq came with little notice.
The Pentagon is relying heavily upon Guard and Reserve troops in Iraq.
Three Guard brigades - from Arkansas, North Carolina and Washington state - are part of the current troop rotation, which is in midcourse. They will spend a full year in Iraq, to be replaced by the newly alerted Guard units, if the Pentagon's current projection of troop requirements remains steady.

...Prayers sent,...

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