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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 7, 2005 Local Guard heads to New Orleans By CHRIS CONRAD Mail Tribune After five exhausting 16-hour days spent preparing for mobilization, Oregon Army National Guard troops from Ashland and Medford are on their way to New Orleans. At around 5 p.m. Tuesday, 66 troops from the 1st Battalion of the 186th Infantry loaded onto buses at the Medford Armory, headed for Kingsley Field air base in Klamath Falls. About 23 troops from the Ashland Armory, which is the 1/186th’s headquarters, piled onto a bus bound for Klamath Falls, said Maj. Chet Cary, a battalion spokesman. "This is always the hard part — just getting there," Cary said. Once they reach the base, the troops will hitch a ride on a C-130 Hercules transport plane bound for Alexandria, La., about 150 miles northwest of New Orleans. Advertisement Cary, whose uncle and cousins barely escaped Katrina’s fury, said the troops are eager to begin their mission. Their primary orders will be to help sanitize a city swimming in toxic water. "What they are finding is standing water that is full of contaminants, including dead animals, victims who drowned and chemicals," said Kay Fristad, a National Guard public affairs officer. The 1/186th will be deployed to a "rough part of town" — a 3-by-5-mile patch of the city that is two-thirds under water, Fristad said. Along with clean-up, the 1/186th will assist local authorities with restoring law and order to the area. Some residents are refusing to leave their homes, which has caused problems for rescue workers. Troops have not yet received orders to force them out of the area, Fristad said. Cary said his troops’ main goal is to help, not hurt, people. And the best way to do that, he said, is to keep the area free of disease. Every soldier was issued plastic gloves and face masks to make corpse removal safer, Cary said. "Our orders indicate a 15-day deployment," Command Sgt. Maj. Roy Striley said. "But I suspect that it will be longer." Striley described the logistical nightmare created by the mobilization of so many troops in such a short time. The 1/186th received its orders at 9 a.m. Friday. Since then, troops at the Medford and Ashland armories have been grinding out 16-hour days, loading vehicles and supplies. In all, around 2,000 Oregon National Guard troops will be sent to the Big Easy, Cary said. "It’s a big machine moving forward," Striley said. "Once in a while it breaks down and you gotta fix it and get it going again." The rest of the 1/186th designated for duty in New Orleans is scheduled to ship out today. Thirty troops from Medford and 23 from Ashland are scheduled to be in the air by 11 a.m., Cary said. Reach reporting intern Chris Conrad at 776-4471, or e-mail Local Guard heads to New Orleans ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s