Posted on: Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Adjutant general to visit troops

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

Lee

Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, the head of the National Guard in Hawai'i, plans to meet with soldiers in Afghanistan later this year.

"It's an opportunity to visit the troops, see how they are doing," said National Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony.

Sixty soldiers with B Company, 193rd Aviation, of the Hawai'i Army National Guard have been in Kandahar since May performing helicopter maintenance for the 25th Infantry Division (Light).

About 200 other National Guard soldiers from C Company, 193rd Aviation, deployed to Iraq early this year with 14 Chinook helicopters.

An additional 2,000 citizen soldiers from the state's 29th Separate Infantry Brigade are headed to Iraq in February and March along with about 700 reservists from the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry in Hawai'i, Guam, American Samoa and Saipan.

Lee, who also visited the troops last year, is in Washington, D.C., at an adjutant generals' conference. One of the topics of conversation with Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard, is expected to be Blum's recent comments that Guard tours in Iraq could be shortened from a year to six to nine months for future rotations if security improves.

The shortened tours are not likely to start with the next rotation of forces that begins in December, "but I think the one after that we'll be able to do it," Bloomberg News Service quoted Blum as saying. Blum said the yearlong deployments to Iraq could be shortened if violence in the country decreases, more Iraqis are trained to fight, and the Guard retains troops to meet the needs of the conflict, Bloomberg reported.

Anthony said "there's no word locally" about how Blum's comments might affect the 29th Brigade's tour. The deployment is considered to be part of the troop rotation that begins in December.

In May, the citizen soldiers of B Company in Afghanistan replaced 62 others from the same unit who had been in the country for 10 months.

Lee traveled to Afghanistan in mid-December last year with Blum. The exact dates of Lee's upcoming travels aren't being released for security reasons, but he's expected to be in the country for more than a week.

"It's hard being away from home, and especially hard at the end of the year when we get into the holiday season," Anthony said. "It's always nice to (see someone) who can be a touchstone to Hawai'i and bring a few items that soldiers might enjoy."

Anthony said there are no plans for Lee to stop in Iraq. There are greater restrictions on general officers seeking to fly into that country.

The 29th Brigade is training at Fort Bliss, Texas. In January, the soldiers will head to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., for combat certification before flying to Kuwait in February and March.

Sixty-seven soldiers from two other Guard units — the 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment and the 298th Engineer Detachment — have received orders to report for active duty on Jan. 10 for a year of duty in the Middle East.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.