SEARCY -- Spc. Ben Mayhair thought he would finish his sophomore year at
Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, and Sgt. Herbert Lang planned to attend his
daughter's high school graduation in May.
But they probably won't do either.
Mayhair and Lang were civilians last week.
This week the two are soldiers with orders that will likely take them
to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt in January.
They are members of the Arkansas National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 153rd
Infantry, 39th Brigade -- which includes more than 600 servicemen from several Arkansas
towns -- and were called to active duty this week.
Most of the Guardsmen will serve with the Multinational Force, which,
with observers, will enforce a 1979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
The battalion has units in Wynne, Walnut Ridge, Harrisburg, Batesville,
Augusta, Forrest City, Brinkley and Newport. Brigade military police in Little Rock
and the 239th Engineers Detachment 1 in Booneville will also go. Soldiers from the 3rd
Battalion, 153rd Infantry in Dumas, McGehee and Monticello will help where necessary.
"The hardest thing for me is the fact that I'm going to miss my
daughter's graduation," Lang said of his soon to be 18-year-old daughter, Komiko.
"I have a wonderful marriage, and I'm really going to miss my wife. But your child's
graduation is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. That's going to be hard on me."
But in the next breath, Lang, who was checking a Humvee in a downpour
Thursday, said it is his duty to help defend "my country."
"When I signed up" said the 43-year-old Lang, who works at a
rice specialty company in Brinkley, "I signed up not only to defend this state, but
also to defend my country. I want my family to feel safe and, whatever I can do to help
achieve that, I'm going to do.
"It's interesting that when you think about the things we're going
to miss, that's what puts it all into place for me. Those are the freedoms we're
defending," he added.
Mayhair, 21, of Cabot said he was enjoying his sophomore year as a
marketing major at ASU when he received notice that his unit had been activated.
"I was ready to go after what I saw happen on Sept. 11,"
Mayhair said of the terrorist attacks. "The terrorists were so wrong. They need to be
taken care of."
But Mayhair admitted that his family, including his mother and father,
Dalton and Ellie Mayhair, of Cabot are "very worried."
"They always knew there was a chance I'd go, but they never
thought it would happen," Mayhair said as he packed his bags. "They thought I
would graduate from college and go on with my life. Now, they're really scared."
But they're going to have a little time to get used to the idea of
their son leaving.
The unit will first go to Fort Carson, Colo., where they will prepare
for the mission.
"Most units get months, if not a year's, notice that they're going
to deploy," said Lt. Col. Steve Womack, commander of the battalion. "It speaks
highly of how qualified the 39th Brigade is that we can train and deploy on such short
notice."
More than 600 men will train through December in Colorado, but only 529
will leave for Egypt in January.
"There's going to be some disappointed soldiers," Womack
said. "But we can't take everybody."
As far as the Guard has been able to determine, this is the first time
a reserve or Guard unit has fulfilled this particular mission.
"This rotation has been going on since 1982, nearly two
decades," Womack said. "But this time, it will be under a much different climate
than in the last decades. Let's face it. We're deploying in a part of the world where
there has been bitterness between nations for hundreds of years, and considering what's
going on in the world, it's a little more intense.
"But we will be focused on our mission, and we will perform it to
the highest standard," he added.
For Sgt. Joe Acree of Joy, news of the deployment came as a surprise.
"I came off of active duty in February and joined the Guard right
after that," he said. "I thought I would stay here, and not go anywhere."
Acree, a medic, was deployed during NATO's defense of Kosovo and
stationed in Albania near the border of Kosovo -- where he and his unit could see NATO's
bombs exploding as they hit their targets.
"When my wife, Barbara, found out I was deploying, she reacted
with disbelief," he said.
The father of three children -- Becca, 14, Matthew, 10, and Bethany, 8
-- said his youngest daughter is taking it the hardest
"And so is my wife," he said. "But they'll be all right.
It's just that we never thought this would happen."
Spc. Jason Cook of Searcy said he was "happy" when he found
out the unit was going.
"Those people, the terrorists, came after us, our people, our
freedom," said Cook, a manager for Food King in Searcy. "I wear this uniform,
and it means we defend this country. I am happy that we have the opportunity to take care
of business. I want my kids to grow up with the freedom we have had."
Cook said his employer supports him.
"They're standing behind me all of the way," he said.
Spc. Paul Parson of Searcy, a welder when he's not a soldier, said he
is ready to go.
"The terrorists attacked us and destroyed our trust," he
said. "There's no question we all hate leaving our families. But it's time to do
something."
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