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Bound for the Sinai | Mail Tribune photos / Bob Pennell Cpl. Jenny Gunter, 25, checks the stockpile of gas masks at the Ashland Armory, headquarters for the 186th Infantry Battalion of the Oregon Army National Guard. Her unit will mobilize Monday in preparation for a deployment to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt on a peacekeeping mission. Local Guard members start getting ready Monday for a six-month peacekeeping mission in the Middle East By PAUL FATTIG Central Point resident Bob Pruitt and his wife, Colette, expect to move into their new house next week. "I didn't think we'd get it done in time," Bob Pruitt said. "But the guy I'm using as a general contractor and all the subcontractors really buckled down to have it done before I left. "We'll get to move in about four days before I leave the valley." Sgt. 1st Class Pruitt, 36, is a member of the 186th Infantry Battalion of the Oregon Army National Guard being mobilized Monday in preparation for a deployment to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. He is one of more than 500 citizen soldiers from southwestern Oregon taking part in the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping operation. The unit, with headquarters at the Ashland Armory, will move out to Fort Carson, Colo., on May 9 for two months of advanced training, then deploy to the Sinai in July for six months. Gov. John Kitzhaber is expected to address the troops on May 6 at the Southern Oregon University football field. A smaller advance unit is scheduled to depart for Fort Carson that day. The remainder will follow by the end of that week. The group represents a broad spectrum of society, from construction workers to college students. Some are former military personnel who have been deployed before; others are marching away from home for the first time. "To say this is going to be easy on everybody would be a lie," said Pruitt, an electrician who expects his income to drop during the deployment. "But the Guard has paid me a lot of money over the years to train me," said the former Air Force enlisted man who joined the Guard in 1990. "Now it's time to do what they trained me for. It's my duty." Like other members of the unit, Pruitt has been busy making sure all his personal affairs are in order and spending time with his family. They gathered Friday for a birthday party for son Terrance and daughter Danielle, who turned 8 and 11, respectively, that day. "It helps that I'm going with a squared-away outfit," he said of preparing for the mission. As a platoon sergeant otherwise known as a "platoon daddy," Pruitt will travel to remote outposts along a roughly 100-mile stretch of the peninsula for which the unit will be responsible. "My job is to make sure they've got everything they need to survive," he said. Pruitt, a movie collector, also plans to make sure morale stays high in his squared-away outfit. "Through my correspondence with platoon sergeants over there now, I've learned they have a selection of movies but not a lot," he said. "I'll be taking part of my collection. That'll help give the guys some entertainment." Maj. Ron McKay also will be packing some items that aren't military in nature. He'll be bringing 600 New Testaments in what he calls "rapid deployment kits" for each citizen soldier who desires one. Pastor of the Ruch Community Bible Church for 21 years, McKay, 47, is the battalion chaplain. He and his wife, Martha, have three sons. The youngest is a ninth-grader at South Medford High School. "I really feel like this is the call of God for me," said McKay, who joined the Guard in 1988. "I'm looking forward to the experience." This will be McKay's fourth trip to the Middle East, albeit his first in uniform. His first came in 1975 when he was a student at Multnomah Bible College. "We spent a week in the Sinai, even spent one night on Mount Sinai," he said, referring to the site where the Bible says Moses received the 10 Commandments. In 1996, he led a 17-member group from his church to Israel and Jordan. A year ago in March, he guided 26 members through the Middle East. "The fact I get to live in the Middle East is going to enhance my ability to communicate the Bible to my congregation when I return," he said. "It will make me a better pastor." But while in the Middle East, he expects to draw on his calling to help counsel soldiers far from home. "I will try to ensure that all religious needs are being met, no matter what the faith," he said. "I can't perform every kind of service because I'm a general Protestant minister, but I will provide to the best of my ability for every faith." Every Saturday evening, McKay will conduct services in the chapel that holds 65 at South Camp, the unit's headquarters while in Sinai. The next day he will fly to North Camp some 100 miles away to conduct another service for soldiers stationed there. But his congregation back home won't be neglected. His father, Roger McKay, 71, has been the minister of the Williams Community Church for 35 years. He is retiring from there to serve in the Ruch church until his son returns. Ashland resident Cameron Hansen, 45, faces a challenge few in the military have encountered: The sergeant 1st class will be running for re-election to the Ashland City Council while serving with the Guard in the Sinai. His current term ends Dec. 31. He is running for re-election in November. "I'll be sending out e-mails," Hansen said. "But I'll have some people helping me out on this end. I hope to be re-elected. I like serving the people of Ashland. "But I have a larger duty that needs to be taken care of now." Hansen, who served in Germany as an enlisted man in the U.S. Army in the mid-1970s, has been in the Guard for 16 years. During that time, he has trained in Korea and Japan. "I have mixed emotions about going now," he said. "I don't like leaving my family, my business or my city. But I've been training for a long time for something like this. When the government says it's time to go, you go." Hansen, who owns the Talent Insurance Agency, figures it's tougher on those left behind. He and his wife, Jennifer, have four children, including two in the military and two in high school. "It's a lot harder on the families than on individual soldiers," he said. "My wife will be doing her job as well as running the insurance agency until I get back." Spc. Mike Curphey, 20, of Medford, is looking forward to the mission. An employee of the Mail Tribune who works as an inserter in circulation, he spent the weekend packing his belongings to put them in storage. "I think it's going to be a good experience," said Curphey, who is not married. He joined the Guard in fall 1999. The trip will be his first abroad. "I'll have very few bills, so I'm hoping to save a little money out of this," he said, noting he will receive $1,518 a month in base pay plus another $200 a month for hazardous duty while in the Sinai. The pay varies according to rank and time in the Guard. "I'm also looking forward to the change in scenery," he said. "I'm not sure what it's going to be like over there. But it will be a great opportunity to see another part of the world." One of the few battalion members who have served on the Sinai Peninsula is Sgt. 1st Class Ken Anderson, 34, of Klamath Falls. In 1986, he spent six months in the Sinai with the U.S. Army's 3rd Special Forces Group, an arm of the 82nd Airborne Division. "My recommendation to everyone right now is to spend as much time with their family as they possibly can," Anderson said. A cable installer for Charter Communications, Anderson is a single parent with four children, ages 5, 6, 7 and 8. "It was kind of a bummer deal," he said of learning late last year that the unit would be heading to the Sinai. But Anderson, who joined the Guard a year ago after spending 13 years in the regular Army and three years in the Army reserve, is prepared to go. His parents will look after his children in his absence, he said. Communications back to the home front have vastly improved since he was stationed on the Sinai, he observed. "There was no such thing as the Internet back in '86," he said. "We only had phones and mail, and it was all slow and painful." Anderson, whose first mission to the Sinai included the summer months, said the soldiers will acclimate to the weather. The mercury can expect to climb into the triple digits during July and August, he said. "It does get hot if you looked at actual temperature," he said. "But you get used to it. I found it comfortable after awhile." Cpl. Jenny Gunter, 25, of Ashland has been preparing for change in climate and country. "I'm working out, eating good, drinking lots of water," she said. "I feel like I've got my personal affairs in order. I'm seeing all my family and friends before I go. "I'm also trying to learn some Arabic now," she added. Although she has traveled the breadth of the United States, she has yet to be overseas. "I'm excited about this," she said, adding that she wouldn't care if she had to eat the military's meals-ready-to-eat packages throughout the trip. "MRE's are fine with me," she said. Gunter, who is not married, recently moved out of her apartment into her parents' home in Ashland in preparation for the trip. She also has taken a leave of absence from her job at the Ashland Starbucks, where she has worked for four years. "It sounds like a very interesting mission," she said. "It'll be great for the battalion to go. We're going with a good group of NCOs (noncommissioned officers) and officers." She's taking a few books, music CDs and a laptop computer for the trip. A Rogue Community College student until this term, she plans to continue her college education in the Middle East via the Internet. In addition to serving as a driver and fuels specialist, she plans to learn more about the people who live in the Sinai. "I hope we get a little time to travel in the area, to see how their everyday life is," she said. A 1995 graduate of Ashland High School, Gunter joined the Guard five years ago. Some of the soldiers she knew in school will be serving with her in Sinai. "That will help ease the nervousness because we are all friends," she said. "In our battalion, we take care of each other." Cpl. Jeremy Petko, 26, of Medford agreed. "I put out the word in my platoon that if anyone wanted anything mechanically done, like a tune-up, to come over to my house and we'd do it," said the former Marine. "I replaced the brakes for a friend of mine who is also going over. I told him if it were done now, then that's one thing his wife won't have to deal with." A U.S. Postal Service employee in Medford, he joined the Guard two years ago. He served a month in northern Egypt during Operation Bright Star in 1999 while in the Corps. "A lot of men and women from Arkansas are over there now," he said of the Guard unit they will replace. "They have been missing their families. Our job is to relieve them." Petko acknowledges he will miss his wife, Angie, and their two young children ages 4 and 6 months. But he figures the time will go fast. He was deployed in the Corps for two six-month periods in Japan. He expects to be deployed out in the field for 23 days at a stretch without communicating with folks back home. "We all have to sacrifice a little bit," said the 1995 graduate of Eagle Point High School. Cpl. Jerry Kinman, 23, of Medford is ready to make that sacrifice. He and his wife, Brittney, were married Jan. 6 of this year. "I don't want to leave her, but this is going to help us with a down payment on a house," he said, looking at his wife. "And I'll see her all the time on the computer." "I can't honestly say I want him to go," his wife said. "We are just starting off. But it's not that long. It'll be OK." A construction worker who joined the Guard five years ago, Kinman already has traveled to Japan and Germany with the Guard unit. "It's a good opportunity to see a place I've never seen," he said. "I'm ready to go. We'll go over there, do our job and come home." Cpl. Steven Miller of Rogue River turns 21 on May 6, but he already has four years in the Guard. He has trained in Japan and was deployed to Saudi Arabia for six months with the unit. "The dry heat isn't that bad," he said. "As long as you keep drinking water, you'll be all right. Just use common sense." The son of a career Air Force enlisted man, Miller lived in Germany for three years. "I'm used to military life," said the squad leader. "I'm looking forward to the experience. I enjoy the Army life. "But I won't enjoy being away from everyone back here and not having any Big Macs," he added. A 1999 graduate of Rogue River High School and a student at Rogue Community College until this term, Miller says the unit is prepared for the mission. "We've been well trained," he said. "We're ready." Troops head to where mines are more plentiful than water By PAUL FATTIG Daniel Cameron is about to become the mayor of a small town on the Sinai Peninsula. Like many mayors, he will be the one folks turn to for conflict resolution. Unlike most mayors, he will be wearing a uniform in an area where armed conflict has long loomed on the arid horizon. Lt. Col. Cameron, 40, is the commanding officer of the Oregon Army National Guard's 186th Infantry Battalion. The unit will be mobilized Monday. After two months of advanced training at Fort Carson, Colo., the battalion will report for six months' duty on the Sinai as part of the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping mission. The United States and nine other nations created the Rome-based MFO in 1982 to ensure peace in the Sinai. "One of the briefing papers I received indicated my role will basically be the mayor of South Camp," Cameron said, referring to the base that will serve as the unit headquarters. "There has been a million things to do, but we've got most everything in place. We had enough lead time to get prepped up to go. We're in good shape." Cameron led a small reconnaissance Guard group to the Sinai last month to observe the MFO operation. "Seeing how the place really runs made all the difference in the world," he said. "That helped me understand what we face." What the unit faces is a rugged desert land where water is scarce and land mines plentiful. The local Guard unit will be staffing more than a dozen remote outposts between South Camp on the southern end of the peninsula and North Camp some 100 miles north along the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba. One remote site, known as OP311 in military parlance, is a small island claimed by both Egypt and Saudi Arabia. "That island is littered with land mines," Cameron said. "You don't get to walk around much there." In preparation for that and other remote sites, the soldiers will practice swing-load hookups with Chinook helicopters on Monday at the Medford airport. Using helicopters is the only practical way to reach and resupply many of the remote sites, Cameron explained. An Ashland resident who is married with children, Cameron, a University of Oregon law school graduate, assumed command of the Guard battalion in spring 1999. He is a U.S. Army veteran, originally joining in 1981. He served as a company commander in Korea before being sent to the Pentagon for a year. The "town" he will command in the Sinai will include 529 members of the Oregon Guard unit. That number is the limit for the American contingent allowed in the treaty signed by Egypt and Israel in 1979. South Camp also houses 80 sailors from the Italian Navy who use watercraft to patrol the region. In addition, Hungary has stationed 40 soldiers at the base. The battalion will be the second Guard unit to ever participate in the mission. It replaces an Arkansas Army National Guard unit that will be completing its tour when the Oregon contingent arrives. The civilian soldiers are being tapped because the regular military has a lot of other commitments, Cameron said. Guard units typically are used within their own states. Most in the local Guard see this as a unique opportunity to represent the nation, he said. "They want to serve their country," he said. "That makes me feel good, that I'm not dragging a bunch of malcontents over there." Yet even with a gung-ho unit, that doesn't mean it will be an easy mission, he cautioned. "There are lots of unexploded ordnance over there," he said. "You don't go anywhere it hasn't been cleared. Even then, sand storms will come up and roll the sand with mines in it over approved roads." The potential for danger is why the battalion will take advanced training for two months at Fort Carson, where the citizen soldiers will prepare for every contingency. By June, the soldiers training at the fort will be practicing at mock-up sites built to look like those on Sinai. They will become adept at observing and reporting on Israeli and Egyptian equipment, and they will study rules of engagement and the fine points of the treaty, Cameron said. They will learn rudimentary Arabic, although three linguists fluent in Arabic will accompany the unit. Other classes will include "drown-proofing" in the event someone gets dumped in the Red Sea. As opposed to mere swimming, this means keeping afloat while wearing a uniform and carrying a rifle, Cameron said. "They will do mine awareness and how to recognize them," he said. One class will instruct soldiers on the challenging art of physical hygiene at remote sites. "They will be at these remote sites for 23 days at a time," he said. "Those sites will be very, very primitive. The contents of the latrines go into a barrel that is burned." Another class is on water conservation. After all, water is a rare commodity at their destination. Desert survival and first aid also will be taught. Many of the soldiers will get a little culinary training. "At the remote sites, they will have to cook for themselves," Cameron said. "A couple of squad members will receive cook training. They will cook for their squads for 23 days. "The squad will want someone who knows how to cook out there," he added. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] About the Sinai mission The 186th Infantry Battalion's Sinai mission will be the largest operational deployment of the Oregon Army National Guard since World War II. The battalion, which will be mobilized Monday, will train for two months at Fort Carson, Colo., then deploy to the Sinai, where it will become part of the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping mission until early next year. The arid Sinai Peninsula, where Africa connects to Asia in the Middle East, long has been a point of contention between Israel and Egypt. It was this area that Israel invaded and occupied during the 1967 war. Israel eventually returned all occupied Sinai lands to Egypt in 1982 as part of the Camp David Accords signed in 1979. As part of the accord, the United States and nine other nations in 1982 created the independent Multinational Force and Observers to ensure peace in the region. Many of the local battalion members have been to the Middle East. The unit deployed 140 soldiers of its Bravo Company to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early in 2000. The soldiers spent four months guarding Patriot missile batteries as part of a mission to help enforce United Nations sanctions levied against Iraq after the Gulf War in 1991. Local Guard members have trained in Japan, Panama, Germany and throughout the states in recent years. Oregon Guard units also played support roles in the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. The battalion includes some 600 citizen soldiers living throughout much of southwestern Oregon. Its headquarters company is based in Ashland under the command of Lt. Col. Daniel Cameron. It includes line companies in Medford, Klamath Falls and Roseburg and a weapons company in Grants Pass. Medford also houses a battalion support attachment at its Guard armory on Highway 99. A few are full-time Guardsmen and women, but most are citizen soldiers who work in a civilian job full time and are in the Guard part time. In addition to a weekend a month, they train for two weeks a year at different locations. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.