2,000 Hawai'i Guard troops on alert status
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Nearly 2,000 Hawai'i Army National Guard soldiers were put on alert status yesterday for possible deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan early next year.
The Hawai'i Guard troops are part of the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade, which has units on all islands, as well as in California, Oregon, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa. In all, about 3,100 soldiers were put on notice.
The alert is the largest ever for the Hawai'i Army National Guard. The last time the 29th SIB was activated for combat duty was May 1968, when 1,500 soldiers were sent to Vietnam.
Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, state adjutant general, speculated that the soldiers could begin four months of training as soon as September and be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan early next year for one year. With the notice, about a third of Hawai'i's 6,000 Guard and Reserve soldiers will be on alert or mobilized, Lee said.
Lee said the alert came as no surprise because it was only a matter of time before a large group of Hawai'i guardsmen would be mobilized.
"Prior to this alert order, Hawai'i ranked last in the nation for the number of troops mobilized for Iraq and Afghanistan, at 13 percent," Lee said. "This impending mobilization would have Hawai'i at the middle of the pack at about 40 percent."
Bryan Hinkle, a member of the 29th SIB who graduated from high school last year, said he is planning to attend the University of Hawai'i this fall and might have to put off those plans.
But he said he is not upset because he was aware of a possible deployment when he signed up last year. "We're really well-trained through several months of training, and I'm confident in my fellow soldiers and that they are ready," he said.
The Hawai'i units placed on alert yesterday were:
Headquarters Company of the 29th SIB; 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry; 29th Support Battalion; 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery; 227th Engineer Company; 229th Military Intelligence Company; F Troop, 82nd Cavalry of Oregon; 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry of California; and the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry from Fort Shafter, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa, which gained fame during World War II.
Lee said the 29th SIB is one of the country's 15 enhanced brigades; of those, 13 have been alerted or deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Three other Hawai'i Army National Guard units totaling 120 soldiers are on alert — the 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, 298th Engineers and the 12th Personnel Services Detachment. Sixty soldiers from Company B, 193rd Aviation, are in Afghanistan and 200 soldiers from Company C, 193rd Aviation, are deployed to Iraq.
Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday said she expects the departure of the troops to have an effect on the state because many soldiers are police officers, firefighters, state and city workers, and in the private workforce. She said the state will "do everything we can to help (the families) during this period."
Although many troops could be gone, Lee assured residents that there still is "adequate homeland security capability." He said there are about 2,500 Air National Guard personnel stationed throughout the state.
"We're about tapped out on the Army side. We have the band left," he joked.
Advertiser staff writer Anna Weaver contributed to this report. Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Bryan Hinkle's first name.
