Schofield soldiers departing for Iraq

By William Cole, Advertiser Military Writer

The first waves of 4,800 Schofield Barracks soldiers were expected to leave early today and Friday for a year of duty in northern Iraq.

The deployment — along with the departure of more than 4,500 soldiers to Afghanistan in March — marks a new chapter in the diverse history of the 25th Infantry Division (Light), and means an extended period away from loved ones and friends.

"I think me and my soldiers are excited. We have a lot of confidence in our unit and our senior-level leadership," said 1st Lt. Walter Cartin, 23, who's with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, and headed to Iraq. "Morale is actually pretty high for what's getting ready to go on. The soldiers want to go."

Groups of soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team will leave for Iraq through Jan. 26, when the last of the chartered flights leaves Hickam Air Force Base.

A typical route will take Hawai'i soldiers to the Mainland, Germany and then Kuwait for staging and rendezvous with a supply ship before the six-day, 600-mile convoy trek to the region around the oil-producing city of Kirkuk. The 25th will patrol an area more than double the size of the Big Island.

Today's planned departure of about 250 soldiers from Hickam at about 2 a.m. was expected to be low-key, with families saying goodbye at home rather than at the base.

"The command is taking care of all the soldiers, giving them plenty of family time," said Cartin, who will leave on one of the later flights. "We've kind of done all of our preparation, and we're waiting on the boats to go."

Deploying soldiers — whether single or married — have been spending time getting things at home in order once the necessary work is done for the day, Cartin said.

"It's important to get (soldiers) home to take care of their families, take care of their personal business, because we do realize the gravity of a year — it does wear on families fairly heavily," the platoon leader said.

The Hawai'i soldiers will fall under the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) for several months, and then the 1st Infantry Division in a 9,200-square-mile area now patrolled by the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

Schofield Barracks officials said the area is north of the so-called "Sunni Triangle" north and west of Baghdad, where many of the attacks on U.S. forces have occurred.

Truck bombs have killed civilians in Kirkuk, where thousands of Kurds demonstrated on Dec. 22 in favor of incorporating the city into the northern autonomous region.

The 25th Division has a wide range of experience in its history, and the Iraq deployment adds to that legacy.

The division fought on Guadalcanal, the North Solomon Islands and the Philippines during World War II, and drove into North Korea and then was forced back in 1950.

The last time the 25th deployed as a division was during the Vietnam War. In 1965, the movement of the 3rd Brigade and 2,000 tons of equipment to the northern province of Pleiku in operation "Blue Light" was the largest movement of soldiers and equipment by military aircraft in history.

Several platoons took part in the first Gulf War, more than 3,700 Schofield soldiers deployed to Haiti in 1995 for peacekeeping, and more than 1,000 soldiers were sent to Bosnia in 2002.

Charlie Company, 1-21, is moving out of the Lightning Towers barracks this weekend ahead of the Iraq deployment, and soldiers leaving later this week and next week are packing up belongings and doing weapons maintenance.

"We're ready to go and we're just pretty much tying up loose ends," said Staff Sgt. Eric Salmond, 25.

Capt. Bill Venable, who commands the approximately 140 soldiers of Charlie Company, said soldiers have been shown real aloha as they prepare to leave Hawai'i.

"The Military 'Ohana Day this weekend was excellent and very much appreciated by everyone that I talked to," Venable said.

More than 1,500 people turned out at Kapi'olani Park to show support for the deploying troops.

An "adopt a soldier" program also was started so that soldiers can get mail from Hawai'i residents.

"I think what we've experienced here is probably the exception rather than the rule," Venable said. "I don't think that most units are fortunate enough to have this kind of send-off by the local community."