Timelines - October 2004

October 16, 2004 - Ranger Competition

MUNCIE - Military science students from Ball State University will be among the competitors in the annual Ranger Competition, an event that started Friday and will continue through Sunday at Camp Atterbury, near Columbus. Ball State has won the event in the past.

From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. students will compete in M-16 rifle qualification, a hand grenade throw course, building and crossing a rope bridge, orienteering (land navigation) and assembly and disassembly of a rifle and pistol.

This year Ball State will be competing against cadets from schools in five other states, including IUPUI, Purdue, Notre Dame and Marquette.

October 19, 2004 - The U.S. Army Reserve has announced that the 844th Engineer Battalion, which includes Greeneville-based Company C, is being called to active duty effective on Wednesday, Oct. 20.

The announcement was made more poignant by Company C’s Monday afternoon participation in a graveside service at the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery for a relative of a young Company C soldier. An Army Reserve spokesman said the ceremony, to which friends and family members of Company C soldiers had been invited, would be held in the gymnasium at Hal Henard Elementary School on Vann Road.

Although Company C is officially going on active duty this Wednesday, the date on which the company will depart Greeneville had not been announced as of this morning. An Army Reserve press release issued Monday said the 844th Engineer Battalion, of which Company C is a part, includes about 575 soldiers. The 844th’s soldiers are trained in military skills that include earth-moving, carpentry, masonry, electrical work, plumbing and maintenance. Their mission during an upcoming deployment in Kuwait and Iraq, according to the release, will include conducting “area damage-control operations and anti-terrorism/force protection operations.”

Monday’s announcement also said Company C will move from Greeneville to Camp Atterbury, Ind., which has been designated the 844th’s mobilization station. “Once at Camp Atterbury, the soldiers will receive additional training and details of their mission,” the release stated.

October 22, 2004 - Little-known Army Reserve unit aims to speed up training of Iraqi army

WASHINGTON (AP) The Pentagon is making a key change in its approach to providing trainers for the fledgling Iraqi army in hopes of getting Iraqis to take control of their nation's security sooner.

For the first time since the U.S. military began training Iraqi security forces more than a year ago, the Pentagon is giving a lead role to an Army Reserve unit that specializes in soldier schooling, but has never performed that mission abroad.  Up to now, the Iraqi army has been trained by a hodgepodge of U.S. infantry and other units. The Army says the decision to send the 98th Division one of seven units in the Army Reserve that specialize in training other soldiers will stabilize the effort. The 98th will have a 12-month tour.

The division is sending about 700 of its 3,600 part-time soldiers to provide a mixture of training, including basic combat skills and the development of a noncommissioned officer corps, its commander, Maj. Gen. Bruce Robinson, said Thursday. They also will serve as live-in advisers to the Iraq army, staying with individual Iraqi units until they are deemed ready for combat, Robinson said.

Few in the 98th Division speak Arabic, Robinson said, so making effective use of interpreters will be crucial. The American soldiers will receive some rudimentary language and cultural instruction at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, Ind., before they leave for Iraq, he said.

The decision to mobilize the 98th Division, which does not have its own vehicles and weapons, apparently came as a surprise to many.

Lt. Gen. James Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, said in disclosing the decision last month that when word went out he received a flurry of cards, letters and e-mail messages asking, ''How can you do that?''  (Robert Burns, Associated Press)

October 22, 2004 - Company C Soldiers, Families To Say Farewell

Many Company C soldiers and their families will spend a final hour together Saturday morning at the Armed Forces Reserve Center here before the soldiers board buses bound for Camp Atterbury, Ind., at 10 a.m.  The Greeneville unit is part of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 844th Engineer Battalion, which also has units in Gray, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

The entire battalion is bound for Iraq after additional training at Camp Atterbury. Capt. Eugene Hunton, Company C’s commanding officer, said on Thursday that the unit’s soldiers are scheduled to report to the Reserve Center for a mandatory formation at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.  After that brief formation and roll call, he said, the soldiers and their families will have time together until 9:30 a.m.  At that point, Capt. Hunton said, the families will depart the Reserve Center, and the soldiers will take part in a final formation before boarding the buses that take them to Camp Atterbury.

Greene County Mayor Roger Jones and Greeneville Mayor Darrell Bryan, earlier in the week, called for local residents to line the East and West Andrew Johnson Highway from Justis Drive all the way to Interstate 81’s exit 23 in Mosheim to show support for the departing soldiers.  Capt. Hunton, who is an Indiana native, said he had already said “goodbye” to his family.

“I don’t see any reason to make this more difficult than it has to be,” he said. A strong show of support from local citizens on Saturday morning could help the morale of the out-of-state soldiers, he said.

During a Thursday interview, Capt. Hunton said he was not authorized to disclose how long Company C, and the rest of the 844th Engineer Battalion, would be at Camp Atterbury.  But he said he feels the battalion is well-prepared and might not have to spend as much time at Camp Atterbury as some less-well-prepared units.

While at Camp Atterbury, he said, Company C, and the rest of the 844th Engineer Battalion, will be evaluated by Army Reserve officials who must certify that the unit is ready for deployment before it leaves for the Middle East.  (BILL JONES/Staff Writer, Source: The Greeneville Sun, Tenn. )

October 26, 2004 - Harrodsburg KY Guard unit to depart

FRANKFORT - Maj. Gen. Donald Storm, Adjutant General for Kentucky, has announced the Kentucky Army National Guard's Headquarters Company, 206th Engineer Battalion has been mobilized in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

There will be a departure ceremony for the unit at 4 p.m., Tuesday at the Harrodsburg National Guard Armory. The 49 Kentucky Army Guard soldiers will then proceed to their mobilization station at Camp Atterbury, Ind., for several weeks of training before deployment for the Persian Gulf.

There are currently more than 800 Kentucky National Guard Soldiers and Airmen mobilized in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle, or participating in peacekeeping operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.  More than 5,000 Kentucky Guard troops have been mobilized since Sept. 11, 2001. (Copyright The Advocate-Messenger, Danville, KY)

October 28, 2004 - Doyle appeals decision not to use McCoy for winter mobilization

FORT McCOY, Wis. — Gov. Jim Doyle has asked U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to reverse an Army decision not to use Fort McCoy as a staging area this winter for troops destined for Iraq and Afghanistan because of concerns about cold weather.

In a telephone news conference Wednesday, Doyle said he is concerned that converting Fort McCoy into a seasonal — instead of year-round — facility for mobilizing Guard and Reserve troops for service in Iraq and Afghanistan will hurt the fort's chances of surviving the next round of base closings.

The Defense Department is evaluating U.S. military installations to make recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission on which bases to close. The commission then will make recommendations to Congress and the Bush administration.

Raymond DuBois, deputy undersecretary of defense for installation and environment, called the Tribune later Wednesday and said the Army decision announced by Doyle would have no effect on civilian employment at the base or its future. He said he did not know whether there would be any effect on the number of military personnel who work at the fort, and referred that question to the Army.  Fort McCoy spokeswoman Linda Fournier said about 3,200 people work at the fort, including civilian employees, military personnel and contract workers.

She said that number is expected to stay about the same, although approximately 1,800 soldiers who would have trained at Fort McCoy in January and February instead will train elsewhere. During that same period of time, more than 3,000 soldiers are scheduled to demobilize through Fort McCoy.  "We have about 700 soldiers here right now who are going through mobilization," Fournier said. Another 400 soldiers are expected to arrive at Fort McCoy in the next few weeks for mobilization, she said.

Training at alternate sites will best prepare those soldiers for the extreme temperature differences between Fort McCoy and Iraq, the 1st U.S. Army said in a press release Wednesday.

Members of the 542nd Transportation Co. of Kingsbury, IN, load 915A2 Tractor Trailers onto rail cars at Fort McCoy. Erik Daily

Fort McCoy ‘very important'

"I think the governor has jumped the gun," DuBois said. "He has confused the message. Number one, there will be no change in the status of Fort McCoy. Number two, there will be no reduction in the civilian employment, either direct or indirect."  Fort McCoy is "very important," DuBois said. Rumsfeld will make his base recommendations to the BRAC commission by May 16, he said. DuBois predicted the Army's decision to send soldiers elsewhere in
January and February won't affect Fort McCoy's chances.

"This has long-term implications for the future of Fort McCoy," Doyle told reporters, a day after he sent a letter to Rumsfeld. If Fort McCoy becomes a seasonal mobilization processing center, it will be much more difficult for it to compete against facilities that are seen as year-round bases, he said.

"Troops will not get any better training than they get at Fort McCoy," Doyle said. And Fort McCoy has "an enormous economic effect," he said.  Fort McCoy was founded in 1909.

Doyle said some of the units that would have trained at Fort McCoy are being diverted to places like Camp Atterbury, Ind., and Fort Dix, N.J., which he said have weather similar to Wisconsin's.

DuBois said New Jersey has milder winter weather than Wisconsin, but did not know how Indiana's weather compares.  Doyle learned last week of the decision by Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, commander of the 1st U.S. Army, to stop mobilization processing at Fort McCoy in the winter months.  (By STEVE CAHALAN / La Crosse Tribune)

October 28, 2004 - Fort McCoy cut back in winter.  Doyle blasts decision to stop chilly training for mobilized troops.

Troops destined to train at Fort McCoy for overseas missions have been diverted to bases in other states after the Army decided the central Wisconsin military installation is too cold in the winter, officials announced Wednesday.

Gov. Jim Doyle blasted the decision to make Fort McCoy a seasonal, rather than year-round, training facility for troops mobilizing for duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.  Doyle said the move could make Fort McCoy vulnerable when the Department of Defense decides early next year which bases to close.

"This is very difficult for us to accept, considering Fort McCoy has been a premier staging center since World War II, and the weather hasn't changed much since then," Doyle said Wednesday.  He sent a letter Tuesday to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking him to reconsider. Doyle said he is working with Wisconsin's congressional delegation to lobby against the plan.

About 1,800 soldiers scheduled to arrive at Fort McCoy between October and December for training and eventual deployment overseas have been diverted to other bases such as Fort Dix, N.J.; Camp Atterbury, Ind.; and Fort Benning, Ga., said Linda Fournier, Fort McCoy's public affairs officer.  What rankled the governor is that soldiers who were supposed to train at Fort McCoy will now train in New Jersey and Indiana, both of which have cold winters, too.

Among the units diverted is the Wisconsin National Guard 1158th Transportation Co. based in Tomah. Instead of the 280-member company traveling 12 miles to Fort McCoy, it's now heading to Fort Benning, Ga. And the unit's 96 heavy equipment transporters were put on rail cars to Georgia, said Wisconsin National Guard Lt. Col. Tim Donovan.

"Most of our Army Guard units since 9-11 that have been mobilized have used Fort McCoy in all four seasons," Donovan said.

Fort McCoy is one of 15 bases used to mobilize troops for overseas and combat duty and one of only two that deal exclusively with National Guard and reserve units. More than 30,000 troops have passed through Fort McCoy since Sept. 11, 2001.  Doyle noted that Fort McCoy employs more than 3,000 people with an estimated annual economic impact of more than $600 million.

The governor's office heard rumors last week that Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, commander of the 1st U.S. Army, had decided Fort McCoy won't be used to train mobilizing troops between Nov. 15 and March 1. Late Wednesday, Doyle learned that the order has been changed for just January and February, said Dan Leistikow, a Doyle aide.  Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said as many as 25% of U.S. military bases could be closed as part of the government's review. 

While Wisconsin National Guard troops - who train one weekend a month and two weeks each year - won't be affected by the decision to end training of mobilizing troops, the governor said he's worried about the long-term effect on Fort McCoy.  If the military installation closes, Wisconsin National Guard members would have to train in another state.  "The implications are very serious for our economy as well as the readiness for our Guard," Doyle said.  (By MEG JONES,JSOnline, Milwaukee, WS)

October 28, 2004 - Tiffin, Ohio Guard unit mobilized.  Tiffin's National Guard unit has been called to active duty.

Bravo Company, 612th Engineer Battalion, 500 Riverside Drive, received mobilization orders and will leave Tiffin Nov. 13 for further training at Camp Atterbury Ind., said Maj. Nicole Gabriel, a spokeswoman for the National Guard in Columbus. The unit's ultimate destination and mission has not been released yet.  A skeleton crew is on orders now, inventorying tools and equipment and getting ready to go, said Capt. Jeff Gillmor, the unit commander. Equipment is being loaded on semi trucks and taken to Camp Atterbury.

The rest of the soldiers will be called in a few days before they leave, Gillmor said.  Well-wishers also can gather at 9 a.m. Nov. 13 on South Washington Street. to show their support of the soldiers as they leave for Camp Atterbury.

The family support group is asking people to come out and wave as the soldiers go by, Bocanegra said.  "We can't just have the soldiers leave and nobody be there," she said.

Bravo Company, 612th Engineer Battalion is comprised of combat engineers and heavy equipment operators from Northwest Ohio. The unit's primary missions are mobility, counter mobility and survivability engineering.  This means that the unit makes sure friendly troops can get where they are going to go, and making sure the enemy can't, Gillmor said. Survivability means that the unit can build defensive positions, such as berms, using earth-moving equipment, he said. (By Jefferson Wolfe, Adviser-Tribune, OH)

October 28, 2004 - Pillar’s 2nd star follows city’s military heritage.

SOME folks might find it a stretch to compare Columbus to the U.S. Military Academy’s graduating Class of 1916.  The connection is that “the stars shone on both of them.”  The West Point Class of 1916 is pretty well-known for the fact that 94 of its 164 members rose to the rank of brigadier general or better.

Two of its members — Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley — went all the way to the top when they were given five-star ranks.

All of that is pretty unusual, but you also have to take into consideration that this was the military academy and its graduates are expected to achieve higher ranks if they make the Army a career.  The same can’t be said of Columbus, yet in recent years it has developed some stars, four of them in fact.

Maj. Gen. Mark Pillar, the most recent of those with local ties to join the ranks, became even more unique several weeks back when he attained his second star and the rank of Major General in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.  Only 25 people are major generals in the entire Air Force Reserve.

Back home, he’s got company. John Hoff, the former commander of Bakalar Air Base, and the late Neal Carmichael, the former science dean at Columbus High School both attained two-star status before their retirements — John in the Air Force and Neal in the Army Reserves.

Another former Columbus High School teacher, Frank Hughes, wore the one-star rank of brigadier general before his retirement from the Army.

Actually all of the Columbus generals would have been outranked by a Columbus native named Joe Kelly who went on to become a three-star general in the 1960s.  The Columbus resident, who was the son of James Kelly, eventually became commander of the Military Air Transport Service in the Air Force.  (By Harry McCawley, the Republic, Columbus, IN)