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Jacksonville Guard unit to return from Iraq

Posted to The Birmingham News:

The Alabama Army National Guard says about 170 members of its 2025th Transportation Company from Jacksonville are coming home from Iraq after the unit’s second tour there.

The Guard says the unit was sent to Iraq the first time in March 2003. It was called to active duty again last May.

The Guard says the unit is scheduled to arrive at the Jacksonville armory Wednesday evening, and that the public is invited to attend ceremonies welcoming the troops home

Bama Guard unit deploys to Iraq; another heading out later this week

Posted to Breaking News at The Birmingham News:

About 50 members of the an Alabama Army National Guard unit that specializes in explosive ordnance disposal have deployed to Iraq and a transportation unit with about 170 soldiers is slated to arrive there shortly.

The 111th Ordnance Group from Opelika arrived down range last week. While in Iraq, the 111th will head up Combined Joint Task Force Troy, which coordinates and oversees efforts to counter improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, throughout the country. Task Force Troy will oversee 600 to 800 U.S. troops involved in anti-IED operations, and several dozen of those troops are soldiers with one of the 111th’s subordinate units, the 441st Ordnance Battalion out of Huntsville.

Meanwhile, state Guard public affairs officer, Lt. Col. Cynthia Bachus, said the 2101st Transportation Company out of Demopolis, Aliceville and Butler is now in Kuwait and will be moving into Iraq soon. The upcoming tour will be the second one for about a third of the unit’s soldiers. The first was in 2004-05.

This morning, the commander of an Alabama Guard military police unit said in an e-mail Sunday’s national elections went smoothly in his unit’s southern sector of Iraq.

“The Iraqi Security Forces did a great job executing the security plan that they established for the province,” said Lt. Col. Charles
Buxton, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 203rd Military Police Battalion, now based in Basra Province.

Soldiers with the Athens-based 203rd have helped train Iraqi police and did pre-election assessments to improve security at 20 critical polling places throughout the province.

Through last December, according to the latest Pentagon figures, more than 4,700 Alabamians were deployed in and around Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bama Guard unit works to protect polling places as Iraq’s elections near

Printed in The Birmingham News:

As Iraq’s national elections draw near, soldiers with an Alabama Army National Guard unit are working to help protect polling places in their sector in the southern part of the country.

About 80 soldiers with the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 203rd Military Police Battalion are based in the southern city of Basrah. The unit commander, Lt. Col. Charles Buxton, said in an e-mail that battalion soldiers have done security assessments on “the 20 most critical polling sites in Basrah Province, as identified by the provincial director of police.”

“During these site assessments, we looked for structural issues and developed recommendations for force protection measures which were presented to the (director),” Buxton said. “During these site assessments, we transported members of the military working dog teams that will be used to conduct searches for explosives at the polling sites, prior to the start of the elections.”

Security at polling places and at government buildings is a concern for U.S. and Iraqi security forces as Sunday’s elections loom. Today, according to press reports, suicide bombers attacked two police stations and a hospital in the city Baqubah, north of Baghdad, and at least 31 people were killed.

In his e-mail, Buxton said 203rd soldiers had done “vulnerability assessments” of two buildings housing government offices, one of which is the Provincial Joint Coordination Center, a structure under the Ministry of Interior. As a result, Buxton said, two concrete barriers were being installed at the center this morning to thwart attacks “from a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.”

Bama Guard unit to deploy on anti-explosive mission in Iraq

Posted today in The Birmingham News:

Bomb attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq have been going down, but bombers appear to be focusing more on Iraqi security forces, government officials, and civilians.

An Alabama National Guard unit will be deploying to Iraq in less than a month and one of its main jobs will be to train Iraqis in bomb detection, disposal, and other related measures to make their country more secure.

A send-off ceremony was held today for about 50 members of the 111th Ordinance Group from Opelika. The unit’s specialty is explosive ordinance disposal and in Iraq it will head up Joint Task Force Troy, which coordinates and oversees anti-IED efforts throughout Iraq. IED stands for Improvised Explosive Devices, which killed or wounded many U.S. soldiers during much of the Iraq war.

“We are the fight against the IED,” said Col. Jose Atencio III, of Florence, the 111th commanding officer.

The task force will oversee 600 to 800 U.S. troops involved in anti-IED operations throughout Iraq. Several dozen of those troops are soldiers with one of the 111th’s subordinate units, the 441st Ordinance Battalion out of Huntsville.

Atencio said that the task force will be working closely with Iraqi security forces because U.S. forces are drawing down in Iraq and are no longer leading the anti-IED efforts around the country.

“We have got to transfer the capability and the capacity over to the Iraqi military, federal police, and the police to give them the ability to counter (IEDs) once we are gone,” Atencio said.

The 111th’s command sergeant major, Gerald Miller, of Helena, said the unit has a lot of soldiers with expertise who had previous deployments – some as far back as Desert Storm.

The 111th soldiers leave Wednesday for Camp Shelby, Miss., where they will spend about three weeks in final training before deploying.

Alabama Ft. Hood soldier intends to deploy to Iraq

Posted today in The Birmingham News:

An Alabama-born Army officer who was shot three times during the Nov. 5 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, still has his good days and bad days, but he had a good one over the weekend when he rode on a float in the Saturday Christmas parade in his hometown of Eclectic.

“I had a wonderful time,” said Warrant Officer Christopher Royal, who was the parade’s grand marshal. Royal said he wanted to do what he could to support civic improvements in Eclectic and would be back in town next week to talk about that with local officials.

By mid-January, Royal, 37, will be following events in Eclectic at an even longer distance than he is now. He expects to be on his fourth deployment in Iraq.

“I plan on deploying … in January whether I’m at 100 percent or not,” Royal said Monday during a telephone interview while he was driving back to Fort Hood. “I’ve made provision to deploy and … I’m trusting God that that’s the right thing to do. I feel it’s the right thing to do because if it was the wrong thing, then he would have took me completely out of that realm. But he did not, he allowed me to be able to perform as a soldier, so I am going to continue to be all that I can be.”…

Read the full article here.

God bless you, W.O. Royal!

Bama Guard explosive disposal unit to get final training before Iraq

Printed in The Birmingham News:

Several dozen Alabama Army National Guard soldiers will head out for Camp Shelby, Miss., this week to begin final training for a mission that involves disposing of unexploded bombs and shells in Iraq.

A send-off ceremony will be Wednesday in Huntsville for the 441st Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). Sgt. 1st Class Terri Baker, the unit’s personnel noncommissioned officer, said the 441st will spend several weeks at Camp Shelby and will head to Iraq sometime in January.

“We render safe ordnance that is found,” Baker said. “IEDs, all that.”

In Iraq, the 441st will work under the Army’s 1st Armored Division and will have four active duty Army ordnance disposal companies under its command, Baker said.

More than 1,500 Alabama National Guard soldiers and airmen have been serving in and around Iraq and Afghanistan. About 270 Guard soldiers, with the 135th Expeditionary Sustainment Command from Birmingham, are now training at Fort Hood, Texas, for a deployment to Afghanistan.

Four Alabama soldiers recovering from rocket attack in Afghanistan

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Courtesy of The Birmingham News:

Four members of an Alabama Army National Guard unit are recovering from wounds they suffered last week when two rockets landed in the base where they were working and exploded near them.

The soldiers are members of the 166th Engineer Company out of Winfield and Vernon, and they were doing some construction work at a forward operating base when they were wounded. The unit commander, Maj. Lee Thompson, said two of the wounded soldiers were flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and will receive “follow-on care” in the U.S.

“All injured will make full recoveries,” Thompson said in a unit newsletter. “I would characterize the circumstances as miraculous.”

“The morale of the company remains high, but I think most are a little more reserved now … a little more aware of the fact that the enemy can reach out and touch any of us,” Thompson said in an e-mail this morning. “I think we’re all just glad that all of our soldiers remain alive today.”

The wounded soldiers, all of whom suffered concussions, are Sgt. 1st Class Shane Sanderson, of Inver Groves Heights, Wisc., who was heading the team of 166th soldiers when the rockets landed; Sgt. Robert Smith of Arab, Spc. Michael Clackum of Hamilton and Spc. Kyle Thomas of Madison. A fifth soldier, Spc. Seth Leonhard of Bankston, “was untouched but witnessed the event,” Thompson said..

Thompson said Sanderson and Clackum were flown to Landstuhl, treated there, and have been flown back to the U.S.. Sanderson received shrapnel wounds to his legs while Clackum suffered shrapnel wounds in the back “which also caused some internal injuries,” Thompson said. Clackum “required multiple surgeries” before leaving for Landstuhl, “mainly due to the environment and challenges in preventing infection while in Afghanistan,” Thompson said.

Smith and Thomas, the other two wounded soldiers, are expected to rejoin the 166th at its Forward Operating Base, Sharana, in eastern Afghanistan in the near future. Both suffered shrapnel wounds, Thompson said.

Thompson said the five soldiers were doing some winterization work early in the morning at another forward operating base “when two enemy 107mm rockets exploded at their feet.

“The ‘kill radius’ of these weapons is 195 feet, and severe damage can be expected at distances up to 325 feet,” Thompson said. “Four of our five soldiers were standing within 10 feet of the detonation; one was within 100 feet.”

“They should all have been killed,” Thompson said.

Alabama Guard unit returning from Iraq

Printed in this weekend’s The Birmingham News:

An Alabama Army Guard unit that deployed to Iraq last December is due back in Alabama this weekend.

About 190 soldiers with the 158th Maintenance Company were scheduled to arrive Tuesday in Camp Atterbury, Ind., said Alabama National Guard spokesman Norman Arnold.

The 158th, out of Tallassee and Tuskegee, was based in northern Iraq and was charged with maintenance and repair of vehicles in convoys that were supporting military operations in the area. Arnold said the unit should be back in Alabama this weekend.

About 15 Guard soldiers with the 115th Signal Battalion from Decatur returned home a few weeks ago from a mission in Iraq.

At present, the Alabama Guard has around 1,600 soldiers and airmen in and around Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wounded warriors get heroes’ greeting at Lakeshore Foundation

Printed in yesterday’s Birmingham News:

Sandy Ballard waved a flag outside the Lakeshore Foundation tonight to give a group of veterans the greeting she said her loved ones did not receive when they came home from Vietnam.

“They need to see that people support them,” Ballard said.

About 450 people joined Ballard, a Bessemer resident, in welcoming a motorcade of classic cars carrying 35 veterans who suffered war injuries or have other disabilities, said Damian Veazey of the Lakeshore Foundation.

The former soldiers will be taking part in Lima Foxtrot — a program that includes activities such as rock climbing and scuba diving designed to help disabled military personnel.

The veterans said they were thrilled to be greeted by the flag-waving crowd.

“They say across America patriotism is dead. Actually, it’s not,” said Robert Silvia, a U.S. Navy petty officer 3rd class who served in the first Gulf War.

A genetic condition cost Silvia about 60 percent of his sight. His wife and two kids came from their home near Palm Springs, Calif., for the event, Silvia said.

Silvia said he was excited about the opportunity to fish and rock climb. “I’ve been gearing up for this for about four months,” Silvia said.

Marine Col. Don “Doc” Ballard, a Medal of Honor recipient who serves on a board of veterans who aid Lakeshore in fundraising, said soldiers today are more likely to survive war wounds, but as a result those injuries are often more severe.

“Life is what they want to make of it,” Ballard said. “The only disability they have is the one in their minds. It’s up to them to look for ways to re-enter society and be more active.”

Riders flocked to Legion’s Poker Run

Printed in this week’s North Jefferson News:

What sounded and felt like a small earthquake in Fultondale on Saturday was simply a group of men and women wanting to help others.

More than 200 motorcycles roared in to American Legion Post 255 in Fultondale to take part in the American Legion Riders 9/11 Poker Run.

This is the fifth year that American Legion District 21 has hosted the ride. Each of the six posts in the district takes turns heading up the event.

“This is in remembrance of the fallen police officers and firefighters on 9/11,” said Ron Slay, vice-commander of post 255 and commander of American Legion Riders of Post 255.

Proceeds of the ride benefit the Fultondale Police and Fire Departments.

On hand to receive plaques and recognition from Post 255 Commander Bill Steber and other officials were Fultondale Assistant Fire Chief Larry Adams and Gardendale Police Chief Mike Walker, along with other members of both departments.

Also on hand at the post Saturday were representatives from the Breast Cancer Foundation and representatives of Kendall Thomas, both of whom were taking up donations.

On Sunday, Walker attended a District 21 meeting at Post 255, where he received a $1,000 check for the Kendall Thomas foundation.

Kendall Thomas, a former softball player at Gardendale High School, has been diagnosed with leukemia.

“That’s what the Legion is, helping the community and helping people in need,” said Slay.

The riders stopped at the American Legion posts in Fairfield, Tarrant and Leeds, giving plaques to the police and fire chiefs there.

The group also picked up extra riders at every post before ending the ride at the Birmingham Race Course.

Slay thanks the dozens of sponsors, who donated more than $2,000 in cash and items for door prizes.