Raw youth and experience blend to
form the members of scout platoon based in Hailey for the 116th Cavalry Brigade
of the Idaho Army National Guard. The men were put on active duty Monday.
Express photo by Willy Cook
Hailey unit deploys for war
Scout platoon’s combat training to
commence in Texas
By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer
As other workers in the Wood River Valley
headed to their jobs on their regular Monday morning commute, a scout platoon of
the Idaho Army National Guard based at the Hailey Armory was headed into a whole
new world.
Soldiers kissed loved ones goodbye and
shared some final moments with family.
Crating gear for transport to Fort
Bliss, Texas, where the Guard will commence active duty combat training this
week, Spec. Ryan Miller, left, Spec. Cody Byington, Spec. Mike Litz and Spec.
Zach Hall ready the final loads. Express photo by Willy Cook
Platoon leader Lt. Matt Addleman and the
30 soldiers in his command, who act as the eyes and ears of the 116th Cavalry
Brigade in combat, officially went on active duty Monday. They have been ordered
to gear up for the third phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, which is to support
the new interim Iraqi government.
"It might have started right about now,"
Addleman said, looking at his watch, foreshadowing Monday’s surprise transfer of
official Iraqi leadership from the Coalition Provisional Authority to Iraqi
leadership.
As the Hailey unit’s Guardsmen finished
packing, they also received surprise news that they would actually have two more
days before their charter flight leaves for three months of combat training in
Fort Bliss, Texas.
"God willing, if everything works out, we
will get to go home and be with our families before we fly out," said Addleman,
33, who lives in Boise with his wife and two young boys.
Other soldiers attached to the platoon
live in Carey, Twin Falls, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Nampa, Meridian, Mountain
Home, Jerome and Richfield, he said.
Home
away from home, Hailey guardsmen get their footlockers and duffels squired away.
Pictured, left to right, are Pvt. Dustin Harrison, Spc. Ryan Miller, Spc. Randy
Johnson and Spc. Adam Beaty. Express photo by Willy Cook
For Addleman, the Guard is a second job.
He also works as a supervisor for UPS. He said he looks forward to the
fulfillment of his enlistment contract, which he agreed to as a way to help fund
his college years. With a degree in International Affairs from Boise State
University, Addleman looks at the deployment to Iraq in part as a test of his
academic study.
"I am excited," he said. "I’ve been in the
Guard for 15 years. I don’t think I’ll retire until they kick me out."
He added that once a soldier signs a
contract to join the Guard he knows that combat is always a possibility.
"Honestly, I never expected it to happen.
It wasn’t something I was disappointed about ... It was my job, my obligation,
my duty ... ."
Addleman said his father, who enlisted and
served in Vietnam, is concerned about his son going into a combat zone.
"(I want to share) my deepest appreciation
and gratitude for the support (the community has) shown us, especially in the
last several months," the Lieutenant added. "We have been getting more support
than we know what to do with. It is greatly appreciated."
For
cavalry scouts, the word “mission” is a big word. Platoon Sgt. Alan Layton,
left, and platoon leader Lt. Matt Addleman, the brain trust of the unit, said in
the case of the Hailey boys the job is to find, engage and destroy the enemy. Express photo by Willy Cook
The same sentiment came from Wood River
High School graduates, Spc. Cody Byington, 20, and Pvt. Casey Markwell, 18.
"I am grateful to have two more nights,"
said Marwell, who completed basic training this spring.
Markwell said his girlfriend was not happy
about his going off to war.
Byington said as a single man it easier to
go, except that he will miss his parents and his brothers and sisters.
"I love them, and I’ll see them in two
years," he said. Byington has 11 family members who have served in the U.S.
military.
Sgt.
Jason Kimball secures weapons in the arms room prior to departure from the
Hailey Armory. Express photo by Willy Cook
Byington graduated from Wood River High
School in 2002 and Markwell graduated in 2003. Another WRHS graduate and
classmate of Markwell‘s, Daniel Fierman, is with the Guard’s Bravo Company in
Boise. Markwell’s uncle, a major, has already deployed with the 750 advance unit
troops who left for Fort Bliss at the beginning of the month.
"Being away from my family for 18 to 24
months is almost unfathomable," Addleman said. "But, you pull yourself up and
you do what you have to do."
Packing and preparing for a Guard farewell
party in Twin Falls on Monday, the Hailey soldiers were in a decent mood.
"We’re enjoying an off day ‘cause from now
on, it will be full-tilt boogie for the next eighteen months," said Spec. Tommy
Dobbs, another platoon member originally from Boise.