Guard general visits Afghanistan
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
As 200 Hawai'i Army National Guard soldiers prepare to report to Schofield Barracks for likely duty in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, the state adjutant general, is winding up a trip to Afghanistan to visit 62 other Hawai'i Guard who deployed there in August.
U.S. Army
Lee left Saturday for the region, visited with the soldiers in Kandahar as a morale booster, and is arriving back in Hawai'i over the weekend.
Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, kneeling left, visited members of Bravo Company, 193rd Aviation of the Hawai'i Army National Guard in Afghanistan.
"Basically, he just wanted to be able to get a firsthand look at the job they are doing over there," said Hawai'i Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony. He said Lee wanted the trip to be as close to Christmas as possible.
Lee, who made several stops in the Central Command area, was in Kandahar with Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard.
The 62 members of Bravo Company, 193rd Aviation, are performing helicopter maintenance for the 10th Mountain Division.
About 200 members of Charlie Company, 193rd Aviation, are being mobilized and have to report to Schofield Barracks in January for training before what will likely be a year of duty in Iraq.
The Guard's 14 CH-47 Chinook helicopters also would make the trip. About 390 Hawai'i-based Army reservists with the 411th Engineer Battalion also are reporting to Schofield in January before likely Iraq duty.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
