Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
October 19, 2007
Pg. 1
It could involve 4,000 troops, the most sent overseas since Korea.
By Tom Infield and Edward Colimore, Inquirer Staff Writers
Nearly 4,000 Pennsylvania National Guard troops are likely headed to Iraq late next year, including members of an infantry company that had six men killed there in 2005.
Soldiers of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Northeast Philadelphia and scattered among 39 armories across the state, were individually notified by a phone chain yesterday and on Wednesday to expect an alert order.
If the Pentagon goes ahead with the deployment, this would be the greatest number of Pennsylvania national guardsmen to serve in Iraq at any one time. It would also be the largest state Guard contingent to serve overseas since the Korean War.
The notifications came in advance of an expected announcement from the Pentagon that about 30,000 Guard troops in eight states - including 3,000 in New Jersey - are being alerted for probable federal activation next fall. The New Jersey soldiers learned of the impending alert earlier in the week.
"Some guys aren't too happy; other guys don't really care," said Robert Radswillas, a police officer in West Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, who already has spent nearly a year in Iraq.
"I think guys are more worried about their families," he said. "I told one guy, and he said, 'Man, my wife is going to flip. I can't tell her this.' "
New policy at the Pentagon is that, in most cases, Guard units won't be activated for much more than a year, including pre-Iraq training in the States. The last time Pennsylvania and New Jersey Guard units of this size were mobilized, in 2004 and 2005, some soldiers spent as long as 18 months on active duty.
Pennsylvania Guard officials confirmed the impending alert of the state's elite Stryker brigade, which is equipped with an advanced-technology Army combat vehicle. But the brigade commander declined comment until official word had come from the Defense Department.
There was no such reticence in New Jersey, where Gov. Corzine criticized the call-up, saying that the "overuse of our National Guard is just a mistake."
In a visit to Fort Dix, Corzine publicly confirmed the alert of six battalions from the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, plus smaller units. This adds up to 3,200 of 6,200 Guard members in the state.
Corzine complained aloud that the deployment could strip New Jersey of help it might need in a natural disaster or other emergency.
"Any time you divide roughly by half your force of response, you have a diminished ability to take on those tasks," he said. "We know there will be great challenges."
About 2,650 soldiers from New Jersey's 50th Brigade can expect to be called up, Corzine said. Most will serve as military police in three different parts of Iraq.
The unit had been slated to go to Iraq in 2010.
The 50th is expected to begin extensive training in June - possibly at Fort Bliss, Texas - and to head to Iraq in September. It was deployed to Iraq in 2004.
Joining the 50th will be about 170 members of the 328th Military Police Company - headquartered at the Cherry Hill Armory - and more than 100 members of the General Support Aviation Battalion from West Trenton.
Some 70 members of the New Jersey Air National Guard security force are already on tour in Baghdad, where they conduct base security.
Some New Jersey guardsmen also will serve in Afghanistan. An Embedded Training Team (ETT) of about 16 Guard soldiers was mobilized Sept. 20 and will provide Army mentors and advisers to the Afghan National Army.
Yesterday, the commander of the 50th, Col. Steve Ferrari of West Berlin, said the biggest challenge will be completing the training in the window of time allotted.
Many soldiers have to prepare families and alert employers.
"I'm lucky; my children are grown up," said Ferrari.
As for the troops, Ferrari said, "I think there is a sense of anticipation and focus on the mission. This is what we trained for."
In Pennsylvania, members of the 56th Brigade said there was little doubt they would be called up as long as the Iraq war continued.
The Army has seven Stryker brigades; only one - the 56th - is a Guard unit.
Over the summer, Lt. Col. Marc Ferraro, its commander, said that having invested $1.5 billion and three years of training in the brigade, the Army surely would deploy it.
The brigade includes two companies - one in Philadelphia and one near Pittsburgh - that previously went to Iraq.
Members of Alpha Company of the First Battalion of the 111th Infantry, based in Northeast Philadelphia, lost six men to roadside-bomb attacks in a four-day period in August 2005.
Radswillas, a staff sergeant, was among the 130-plus men were served with Alpha in Iraq.
He said he looked forward to the "camaraderie of being with the guys" again.
"But you're going to Iraq. People could get killed," he said. "It's hard on families."
Spec. Joel Quirple of Phoenixville, who served with Alpha in Iraq, said he looked forward to going back.
"It doesn't bother me one bit," he said.
But Spec. Bryan Walczer, of Northampton, Pa., whose enlistment is scheduled to expire in May, said he hoped to get out of the Guard.
"I'm still battling depression and post-traumatic stress from the first time," he said. "To go back again, it's kind of heart-breaking."
Three other Pennsylvania Guard units received mobilization orders a month ago. These included the 104th Cavalry, in Northeast Philadelphia, which will send 430 soldiers to do peacekeeping duty in the Sinai desert of Egypt.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
October 19, 2007
Pg. 1
It could involve 4,000 troops, the most sent overseas since Korea.
By Tom Infield and Edward Colimore, Inquirer Staff Writers
Nearly 4,000 Pennsylvania National Guard troops are likely headed to Iraq late next year, including members of an infantry company that had six men killed there in 2005.
Soldiers of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Northeast Philadelphia and scattered among 39 armories across the state, were individually notified by a phone chain yesterday and on Wednesday to expect an alert order.
If the Pentagon goes ahead with the deployment, this would be the greatest number of Pennsylvania national guardsmen to serve in Iraq at any one time. It would also be the largest state Guard contingent to serve overseas since the Korean War.
The notifications came in advance of an expected announcement from the Pentagon that about 30,000 Guard troops in eight states - including 3,000 in New Jersey - are being alerted for probable federal activation next fall. The New Jersey soldiers learned of the impending alert earlier in the week.
"Some guys aren't too happy; other guys don't really care," said Robert Radswillas, a police officer in West Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, who already has spent nearly a year in Iraq.
"I think guys are more worried about their families," he said. "I told one guy, and he said, 'Man, my wife is going to flip. I can't tell her this.' "
New policy at the Pentagon is that, in most cases, Guard units won't be activated for much more than a year, including pre-Iraq training in the States. The last time Pennsylvania and New Jersey Guard units of this size were mobilized, in 2004 and 2005, some soldiers spent as long as 18 months on active duty.
Pennsylvania Guard officials confirmed the impending alert of the state's elite Stryker brigade, which is equipped with an advanced-technology Army combat vehicle. But the brigade commander declined comment until official word had come from the Defense Department.
There was no such reticence in New Jersey, where Gov. Corzine criticized the call-up, saying that the "overuse of our National Guard is just a mistake."
In a visit to Fort Dix, Corzine publicly confirmed the alert of six battalions from the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, plus smaller units. This adds up to 3,200 of 6,200 Guard members in the state.
Corzine complained aloud that the deployment could strip New Jersey of help it might need in a natural disaster or other emergency.
"Any time you divide roughly by half your force of response, you have a diminished ability to take on those tasks," he said. "We know there will be great challenges."
About 2,650 soldiers from New Jersey's 50th Brigade can expect to be called up, Corzine said. Most will serve as military police in three different parts of Iraq.
The unit had been slated to go to Iraq in 2010.
The 50th is expected to begin extensive training in June - possibly at Fort Bliss, Texas - and to head to Iraq in September. It was deployed to Iraq in 2004.
Joining the 50th will be about 170 members of the 328th Military Police Company - headquartered at the Cherry Hill Armory - and more than 100 members of the General Support Aviation Battalion from West Trenton.
Some 70 members of the New Jersey Air National Guard security force are already on tour in Baghdad, where they conduct base security.
Some New Jersey guardsmen also will serve in Afghanistan. An Embedded Training Team (ETT) of about 16 Guard soldiers was mobilized Sept. 20 and will provide Army mentors and advisers to the Afghan National Army.
Yesterday, the commander of the 50th, Col. Steve Ferrari of West Berlin, said the biggest challenge will be completing the training in the window of time allotted.
Many soldiers have to prepare families and alert employers.
"I'm lucky; my children are grown up," said Ferrari.
As for the troops, Ferrari said, "I think there is a sense of anticipation and focus on the mission. This is what we trained for."
In Pennsylvania, members of the 56th Brigade said there was little doubt they would be called up as long as the Iraq war continued.
The Army has seven Stryker brigades; only one - the 56th - is a Guard unit.
Over the summer, Lt. Col. Marc Ferraro, its commander, said that having invested $1.5 billion and three years of training in the brigade, the Army surely would deploy it.
The brigade includes two companies - one in Philadelphia and one near Pittsburgh - that previously went to Iraq.
Members of Alpha Company of the First Battalion of the 111th Infantry, based in Northeast Philadelphia, lost six men to roadside-bomb attacks in a four-day period in August 2005.
Radswillas, a staff sergeant, was among the 130-plus men were served with Alpha in Iraq.
He said he looked forward to the "camaraderie of being with the guys" again.
"But you're going to Iraq. People could get killed," he said. "It's hard on families."
Spec. Joel Quirple of Phoenixville, who served with Alpha in Iraq, said he looked forward to going back.
"It doesn't bother me one bit," he said.
But Spec. Bryan Walczer, of Northampton, Pa., whose enlistment is scheduled to expire in May, said he hoped to get out of the Guard.
"I'm still battling depression and post-traumatic stress from the first time," he said. "To go back again, it's kind of heart-breaking."
Three other Pennsylvania Guard units received mobilization orders a month ago. These included the 104th Cavalry, in Northeast Philadelphia, which will send 430 soldiers to do peacekeeping duty in the Sinai desert of Egypt.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.