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M/CLOUDY Temp: 42 °F Wind: WNW at 3 mph Monday, March 3, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend February 13, 2003 Eagle Point guardsman gets call for Iraq duty By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune An Oregon Army National Guard officer from Eagle Point is among the first of Oregon’s citizen soldiers activated for a possible war with Iraq. Michael E. Stappler, a second lieutenant with the Guard’s 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry whose headquarters is in Ashland, has joined the deployment of the 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry, a Guard unit based in Forest Grove. The 1-162nd has received orders to report to the Army base at Fort Carson, Colo., according to a Guard spokesman. The unit’s specific destination beyond Fort Carson wasn’t disclosed. Stappler is among some 38,600 National Guard or Reserve troops nationwide activated during the past week. "Some will deploy to the Middle East, others will serve here in the homeland," Lt. Col. Dan Stoneking, a Defense Department spokesman, told The Associated Press. There are numerous individuals from southwestern Oregon in the regular military, including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, who already have been deployed to the Middle East. Stappler is the only local member of the Guard’s 1-186th deployed beyond Oregon thus far, according to Capt. Chet Cary, a battalion spokesman. But 30 members of the unit are providing security for the Guard’s air base in Klamath Falls, he said. Stappler, 33, was expected to join the Forest Grove unit today. He is a graduate of Eagle Point High School and a 1996 graduate of what is now Southern Oregon University, where he majored in business administration. He is the son of Harvey and Muriel Stappler of Eagle Point. "Wherever he goes, he will make us proud," his father said. Stappler was not among the roughly 530 members of the 1-186th deployed last summer on a peacekeeping mission to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. They returned last month. Meanwhile, the Pentagon said the number activated for a war with Iraq in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is now 113,750; the Naval Reserve, 6,270; the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 15,700; the Marine Corps, 12,540; and the Coast Guard Reserve, about 2,000. The 150,250 now serving represent a little over 12 percent of the total 1.22 million Guard and Reserve forces, a Pentagon spokesman said. Share family stories Anyone with local relatives in the Guard or military reserves being activated in the coming weeks for a possible war with Iraq is asked to contact the Mail Tribune at 776-4496 or send e-mail to [email protected] Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S