Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 14, 2008
Pg. 1
By Edward Colimore, Inquirer Staff Writer
In the distance was the pop-pop-pop of gunfire and the staccato beating of rotors from Chinook helicopters, taking off and landing on a Pennsylvania military airfield.
Helmeted soldiers with M4 carbines darted between buildings and eyed windows, doors and roofs in carefully choreographed moves.
Nearby, troops in a combat life-saver course practiced sticking one another with needles tethered to IVs while others adjusted their weapons' sights and drove humvees through obstacle courses.
This was Fort Indiantown Gap, a military training center where New Jersey troops are busily preparing for the largest deployment of that state's National Guard since World War II.
The 2,850 members of the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will finish three weeks of training on Saturday. In June, they will head to Fort Bliss, Texas, for more intense endeavors before they leave for Iraq in early fall.
Their task over the nine months they will be there: guarding detention facilities where insurgents are held and providing convoy security.
"The morale is great . . . everybody wants to do it," said the commander of the 50th, Col. Steve Ferrari, 46, of West Berlin. "We're ready to move forward to Fort Bliss and do our thing."
The brigade's soldiers range in age from 18 to 58 and come from every county of New Jersey: 217 are from Burlington County, 208 from Camden County, and 164 from Gloucester County.
They are spouses leaving wives, husbands and children; young single men and women taking a break from jobs or college, and grandparents in their 50s leaving families, including grandchildren.
The majority are white men but African Americans and Hispanics also are well represented in the ranks. Some 250 are women and some are members - for the first time in the history of the New Jersey Guard - of infantry battalions, serving in logistics and administrative positions.
Several troops have already been to Iraq and volunteered from other units to "finish the job" and share their experience with first-timers. Others are going simply because they have been called to duty.
"My wife is somewhat on board; she'll stay with her mom," said volunteer Sgt. First Class Stephen Cosmanic, 37, of Barnegat, Ocean County, who has four children, including twins, after four years of marriage.
"It's harder going over when you're married, but the military is my life. I love it."
Standing on the steps of a World War II-era building last week, Cosmanic addressed dozens of troops who had just taken a written combat life-saver test. He's taught nearly 1,500 soldiers how to care for wounded comrades - from administering IVs to applying tourniquets - until medics arrive.
"The test scores are good. There are a few retesters," Cosmanic told his students as a formation of other soldiers, laden with weapons and heavy bags of gear, marched by.
"You've got to know what you don't know. This is not Xbox or PlayStation. You can't hit the reset button."
The class was a refresher for at least one student: Staff Sgt. John Archer, 32, of Collingswood. He's been to Iraq twice as an active-duty soldier, administering IVs under fire.
"I volunteered to do this," he said. "I have something to give back. I have to teach the younger soldiers, impart my knowledge from previous tours."
Archer, who fought many battles and lost friends in combat, was in Baghdad on April 9, 2003 - the day the city fell and a statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down and dragged through the streets.
"The arm of Saddam's statue was stuck in the ground in the camp and soldiers did what soldiers do: take photos of it and celebrate," he said. "But the end of the mission and victory are not always as final as they seem."
In his second deployment in 2005, the atmosphere in Iraq "was completely different," he said. "That's when we started seeing the IEDs [improvised explosive devices] - and wire stretched under overpasses to catch gunners" at head level as their vehicles passed.
Archer, son of an Army veteran, was in the Army for 30 years and served as a military recruiter when he returned home. "They were kind enough to let me go back again," he said. "My goal is to get all my soldiers back home safely."
Most of the soldiers - such as Pvt. 2 Anthony Cafiero of Lacey Township, Ocean County - are going to Iraq for the first time. Cafiero, 18, went to basic training nine days after finishing high school.
"My grandfather served in World War II and my uncle served in Vietnam," he said. "My family is nervous for me but support me 100 percent.
"I wanted to serve my country, get money for college, become a cop, and stay in the Guard."
About 100 feet away, an eight-man squad was weaving through some one-story barracks, practicing urban troop movement techniques.
"We're covering rooftops, doors and windows," said Sgt. Robert Guarino, of Vernon, Sussex County, a student who works at a liquor store in Wayne and is being deployed for the first time. "We will be more than ready."
After the exercise, Guarino and other troops held an "after-action" assessment to determine how their communications and stealthy movements could be improved. Then they started all over again, ducking around the corners of barracks.
About 100 feet away, at the combat life-savers class, Pvt. Antanacio Guzman, 18, of Newark, N.J., was about to administer an IV to Pvt. Samuel Diaz, 21, also of Newark.
While Diaz lay on a litter, Guzman inserted a needle into one of his veins - on the first try.
Cosmanic was pleased. "First time!" he said with a broad grin.
"They've prepared us well," Diaz said.
"I'm learning a lot more than I thought I would," added Guzman. "I feel a sense of belonging like I never felt before. If I have a problem, I can always talk to my battle buddies."
In the distance, on a firing range, other soldiers were training on a weapon more associated with police officers: the shotgun. The gun, which can be loaded with nonlethal ammunition, will be part of the 50th's mission in guarding detainees in Iraq.
"My wife is counting the days [until the homecoming in June 2009], but she's a trouper," Sgt. First Class Don Brandinelli, 43, of Mount Laurel, said as he kept records on the soldiers' progress on the range.
"I told my two boys, who are 5 and 10, that they have to be Army strong while I am away. I told them they have to help their mom. My oldest told me, 'Dad, when you get home, I want to go to the Star Wars convention,' " he added with a smile.
Thirty feet away, another soldier, Kiem Robinson, 29, of Burlington Township, fired shotgun blasts at a target. "This lets them know you're coming," he said afterward. "I'd like to do that again."
Robinson, who has been to Iraq before, said his fiancée was "disgruntled" about the new deployment. "Talk about pots and pans flying!" he said and laughed. "But I signed up for the military to do a job."
Some of the older members of the unit have been through deployments before and have come to an understanding with spouses.
Master Sgt. Larry Wilson, 54, a former Special Forces medic, said his wife "supports the military and what I have been doing for 32 years."
Wilson, of Whitehouse Station, Hunterdon County, said his wife was also behind him in 2003 when he served in Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Gerard DiBona, 53, a Williamstown resident with three grandchildren, said his wife "doesn't like it but understands."
"I'm taking it one day at a time," DiBona said as he watched troops fire M4 carbines on a range. "These are really good kids and they are training hard. If you're the best, nobody is going to mess with you."
During his weeks at Fort Indiantown Gap, DiBona said he hadn't been following the situation in Iraq.
"But it is what it is. I like John Wayne and he would just say, 'Scout out! Roll!' "
April 14, 2008
Pg. 1
By Edward Colimore, Inquirer Staff Writer
In the distance was the pop-pop-pop of gunfire and the staccato beating of rotors from Chinook helicopters, taking off and landing on a Pennsylvania military airfield.
Helmeted soldiers with M4 carbines darted between buildings and eyed windows, doors and roofs in carefully choreographed moves.
Nearby, troops in a combat life-saver course practiced sticking one another with needles tethered to IVs while others adjusted their weapons' sights and drove humvees through obstacle courses.
This was Fort Indiantown Gap, a military training center where New Jersey troops are busily preparing for the largest deployment of that state's National Guard since World War II.
The 2,850 members of the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will finish three weeks of training on Saturday. In June, they will head to Fort Bliss, Texas, for more intense endeavors before they leave for Iraq in early fall.
Their task over the nine months they will be there: guarding detention facilities where insurgents are held and providing convoy security.
"The morale is great . . . everybody wants to do it," said the commander of the 50th, Col. Steve Ferrari, 46, of West Berlin. "We're ready to move forward to Fort Bliss and do our thing."
The brigade's soldiers range in age from 18 to 58 and come from every county of New Jersey: 217 are from Burlington County, 208 from Camden County, and 164 from Gloucester County.
They are spouses leaving wives, husbands and children; young single men and women taking a break from jobs or college, and grandparents in their 50s leaving families, including grandchildren.
The majority are white men but African Americans and Hispanics also are well represented in the ranks. Some 250 are women and some are members - for the first time in the history of the New Jersey Guard - of infantry battalions, serving in logistics and administrative positions.
Several troops have already been to Iraq and volunteered from other units to "finish the job" and share their experience with first-timers. Others are going simply because they have been called to duty.
"My wife is somewhat on board; she'll stay with her mom," said volunteer Sgt. First Class Stephen Cosmanic, 37, of Barnegat, Ocean County, who has four children, including twins, after four years of marriage.
"It's harder going over when you're married, but the military is my life. I love it."
Standing on the steps of a World War II-era building last week, Cosmanic addressed dozens of troops who had just taken a written combat life-saver test. He's taught nearly 1,500 soldiers how to care for wounded comrades - from administering IVs to applying tourniquets - until medics arrive.
"The test scores are good. There are a few retesters," Cosmanic told his students as a formation of other soldiers, laden with weapons and heavy bags of gear, marched by.
"You've got to know what you don't know. This is not Xbox or PlayStation. You can't hit the reset button."
The class was a refresher for at least one student: Staff Sgt. John Archer, 32, of Collingswood. He's been to Iraq twice as an active-duty soldier, administering IVs under fire.
"I volunteered to do this," he said. "I have something to give back. I have to teach the younger soldiers, impart my knowledge from previous tours."
Archer, who fought many battles and lost friends in combat, was in Baghdad on April 9, 2003 - the day the city fell and a statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down and dragged through the streets.
"The arm of Saddam's statue was stuck in the ground in the camp and soldiers did what soldiers do: take photos of it and celebrate," he said. "But the end of the mission and victory are not always as final as they seem."
In his second deployment in 2005, the atmosphere in Iraq "was completely different," he said. "That's when we started seeing the IEDs [improvised explosive devices] - and wire stretched under overpasses to catch gunners" at head level as their vehicles passed.
Archer, son of an Army veteran, was in the Army for 30 years and served as a military recruiter when he returned home. "They were kind enough to let me go back again," he said. "My goal is to get all my soldiers back home safely."
Most of the soldiers - such as Pvt. 2 Anthony Cafiero of Lacey Township, Ocean County - are going to Iraq for the first time. Cafiero, 18, went to basic training nine days after finishing high school.
"My grandfather served in World War II and my uncle served in Vietnam," he said. "My family is nervous for me but support me 100 percent.
"I wanted to serve my country, get money for college, become a cop, and stay in the Guard."
About 100 feet away, an eight-man squad was weaving through some one-story barracks, practicing urban troop movement techniques.
"We're covering rooftops, doors and windows," said Sgt. Robert Guarino, of Vernon, Sussex County, a student who works at a liquor store in Wayne and is being deployed for the first time. "We will be more than ready."
After the exercise, Guarino and other troops held an "after-action" assessment to determine how their communications and stealthy movements could be improved. Then they started all over again, ducking around the corners of barracks.
About 100 feet away, at the combat life-savers class, Pvt. Antanacio Guzman, 18, of Newark, N.J., was about to administer an IV to Pvt. Samuel Diaz, 21, also of Newark.
While Diaz lay on a litter, Guzman inserted a needle into one of his veins - on the first try.
Cosmanic was pleased. "First time!" he said with a broad grin.
"They've prepared us well," Diaz said.
"I'm learning a lot more than I thought I would," added Guzman. "I feel a sense of belonging like I never felt before. If I have a problem, I can always talk to my battle buddies."
In the distance, on a firing range, other soldiers were training on a weapon more associated with police officers: the shotgun. The gun, which can be loaded with nonlethal ammunition, will be part of the 50th's mission in guarding detainees in Iraq.
"My wife is counting the days [until the homecoming in June 2009], but she's a trouper," Sgt. First Class Don Brandinelli, 43, of Mount Laurel, said as he kept records on the soldiers' progress on the range.
"I told my two boys, who are 5 and 10, that they have to be Army strong while I am away. I told them they have to help their mom. My oldest told me, 'Dad, when you get home, I want to go to the Star Wars convention,' " he added with a smile.
Thirty feet away, another soldier, Kiem Robinson, 29, of Burlington Township, fired shotgun blasts at a target. "This lets them know you're coming," he said afterward. "I'd like to do that again."
Robinson, who has been to Iraq before, said his fiancée was "disgruntled" about the new deployment. "Talk about pots and pans flying!" he said and laughed. "But I signed up for the military to do a job."
Some of the older members of the unit have been through deployments before and have come to an understanding with spouses.
Master Sgt. Larry Wilson, 54, a former Special Forces medic, said his wife "supports the military and what I have been doing for 32 years."
Wilson, of Whitehouse Station, Hunterdon County, said his wife was also behind him in 2003 when he served in Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Gerard DiBona, 53, a Williamstown resident with three grandchildren, said his wife "doesn't like it but understands."
"I'm taking it one day at a time," DiBona said as he watched troops fire M4 carbines on a range. "These are really good kids and they are training hard. If you're the best, nobody is going to mess with you."
During his weeks at Fort Indiantown Gap, DiBona said he hadn't been following the situation in Iraq.
"But it is what it is. I like John Wayne and he would just say, 'Scout out! Roll!' "