Document text
Army chief visits local Guard unit Southern Oregon battalion ships out this summer for peacekeeping in Egypt By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune The head of the U.S. Army gave the citizen soldiers of Southern Oregon a pep talk on Saturday. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki met with enlisted soldiers and officers of the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Brigade of the Oregon Army National Guard, scheduled to be deployed on a peacekeeping mission in Egypt early this summer. Wearing cammies, well-shined combat boots and a high-and-dry haircut, the squared-away Shinseki had been expected to address the troops en masse. Instead, he spent nearly two hours speaking and shaking hands with individual soldiers who had mustered at the Medford Armory to complete paperwork and get medical shots and other necessary domestic missions done before being mobilized. Security was tight during his visit. Shinseki did not meet with the press. "He wanted to visit this unit that is going to deploy for him to the Sinai," explained Maj. Gen. Alexander Burgin, adjutant general of the Oregon Army National Guard. "He wanted to visit a National Guard operation to see how it was gearing up, what issues they had and to see if there was anything he could help with." As he talked to the troops, Shinseki periodically took notes. "He will also visit them over there during their tour," Burgin said. All told, 529 soldiers, mostly from southwestern Oregon - although there are some with special training from elsewhere in the state joining the force - are being mobilized as part of the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping mission in the Sinai. The unit, under the command of Lt. Col. Daniel Cameron, will be mobilized on April 29 and 30. Before being sent to Egypt, they will train for two months at Fort Carson, Colo., where they will study vehicle, aircraft and ship recognition. They will also become well-versed in rules of engagement, desert survival skills and Arab customs and basic languages. The unit, which will replace an Arkansas National Guard battalion, will staff checkpoints and observation posts and make reconnaissance patrols along the international border. The unit is expected to demobilize in January or February 2003. Back home, family members will be able to talk to and see their loved ones live through video teleconferencing equipment at the battalion headquarters in Ashland. The battalion has infantry line companies in Medford, Klamath Falls and Roseburg and a weapons company in Grants Pass. A battalion support attachment is stationed at the Medford Armory. This isn't the group's first overseas deployment. The unit sent 140 soldiers of its Bravo Company to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early in 2000. Saturday's visit was likely the first time any army chief of staff has been to Southern Oregon. "One has never been here to my knowledge," said Guard spokesman Maj. Jeff Julum. "If he has, it would have been a long, long time ago. "General Shinseki is taking a great interest in this mission," he added. So are the enlisted soldiers, such as Sgt. Jason Keough, 23, of Winston. His wife, Cheryl, had a baby boy on Wednesday. "At 12:21 a.m. - 8 pounds and 21/2 ounces," Keough said. "We named him Ethan." A sawmill worker when he isn't wearing a uniform, the sergeant had been among those in Bravo Company who went to Saudi Arabia. "I volunteered to go with Bravo Company," he said. "My wife and I figured we wouldn't be deploying for awhile so we could have a baby. "My wife is upset now that I'll be going again," he added. "She'll have to raise our baby without me for nine months. But I'll do my job." They bought a digital camcorder so he could see his son via the Internet, he said. "We're all set," he said of the homefront. As are the troops in general, added Burgin. "We learned of the mission back in November so we had a good opportunity at the state headquarters, brigade headquarters and battalion headquarters to sequence this process right," he said. "We're probably ahead of schedule now." Noting the unit was selected because of its ability, he said the National Guard troops are among the best the nation has to offer. "What I've found is that a citizen soldier, when they go on a deployment, whether three weeks or into the 'real world' like this, they are the best ambassadors for the United States," he said. "The reason is they come from all these walks of life and they live in the community - they are policemen, judges, firemen, students," he added. "They know how to relate to people on a person-to-person basis." The unit will operate out of a secure base camp in the Sinai, he said. "But who knows in today's environment what is secure," he added. "So the concept of security or what we call force protection has to be paramount in their minds 24 hours a day. They'll have to be on their toes. And they will be." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.