Middle East mission 'a first' for division
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
Yesterday, on the eve of the first anniversary of the war in Iraq, thousands of soldiers bound for Afghan-istan beginning next week received a glorious send-off at Schofield Barracks, complete with brass bands, speeches and dignitaries — and emotions that ranged from pride to gratitude among hundreds of family, friends and well-wishers.
Members of the 411th Engineer Battalion were among 5,000 soldiers who participated in the deployment ceremony yesterday at Schofield Barracks. Sometime in the next three weeks, the 600-member battalion will deploy to Iraq to build roads and new schools.
Row upon row of soldiers in battle gear with weapons spread out across Sills Field — nearly 5,000 strong — on what Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson, commander of the 25th Infantry Division (Light), called a historic occasion.
The assignment of some 5,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, along with more than 4,000 Schofield-based soldiers already in Iraq, will mark the largest deployment of the 25th Infantry Division since the Vietnam War.
Those numbers, in addition to 150 Kane'ohe Marines already en route, as well as 600 Hawai'i Army reservists and Army National Guard bound for Iraq, will bring Hawai'i's troop strength in the Middle East to around 10,000.
"The 25th Infantry Division has historically been focused on the Pacific theater," Olson said at a press briefing before he addressed the crowd. "There has been no major deployment out of the Pacific theater.
"So this is really a first for us."
The element of fear
It was also a new experience for Christina Ballew, whose husband of 15 years, 1st Sgt. Gary Ballew, will be deploying for the first time. She said the prospect can be frightening to her and the couple's two daughters, Brittany, 14, and Ashley, 12.
"It's a little scary," Christina Ballew said. "This is new for my two daughters. It's a little harder for them than I thought it would be, to be honest. They're obviously at an age that they understand what's going on. They watch the news and hear other people talking.
"So, you try to soften it a little bit for them."
Ballew said above all she and her daughters are proud of her husband's commitment.
"He's doing something that's very honorable, I believe," she said.
Olson seemed to relish what will be his expanded role once he arrives in Afghanistan.
"In this case the fight in Afghanistan is going to be built around the 25th Infantry Division," he said. "It's going to be soldiers from lots of other commands. All the other services are going to be represented, and various nations who are going to be providing forces.
"And my role there will be as the combined joint task force commander, as well as being the division commander."
Find enemies, then secure
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
Olson described the mission in Afghanistan as twofold. The first is to find and capture or kill the enemies of America, whether al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. The second is to establish a secure environment so terrorists can never again use the country as a sanctuary.
Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson, right, and Command Sgt. Maj. Franklin G. Ashe participated in the casing of 25th Infantry Division colors during the deployment ceremony yesterday at Schofield Barracks.
"I'm very excited to hear the reports that a key al-Qaida leader may be almost in our grasp," he said, referring to reports yesterday that al-Qaida's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahri, may be surrounded by Pakistani troops in fierce fighting along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.
According to Patricia Simoes, a spokeswoman for the 25th, the Afghanistan deployment will operate differently than the Iraq deployment, which began in mid-January. In that instance thousands of soldiers were sent to Iraq over a two- to three-week period, she said.
The Afghanistan deployment will take much longer because it involves a number of different missions in various locations.
"This one we start next week and it's going to take us all the way through April — and even in May maybe," she said.
For Sgt. Brian Mickles, 24, who returned from fighting in Iraq in June, it will be a second trip to the Middle East. He described his new mission as an honor.
"I'm excited because this is a privilege for the 25th to be able to go on its first combat deployment in years," he said. "It's very special for me to be a part of that. I feel that we're ready."
But even he expressed some trepidation.
"I'm pretty sure everybody has some kind of fear about going," said Mickles, who will lead a team of four men in his squad. "Everybody has a fear of being shot at. But bravery can overcome that."
Reach Will Hoover at 525-8038 or whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.
