'Gunslingers' continue to distingquish themselves in training

Godspeed Gunslingers!

BY DALE ELLIS    10/20/2001

Managing Editor

Amid tears and embraces from families who braved the early morning to see them off, members of the 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry, 39th eSB National Guard Unit (The Gunslingers), left Searcy at 5 a.m. Friday. They were bound for Jacksonville Air Force Base and then on to Fort Carson, Colorado for a training mission to prepare them for deployment in January to the Sinai region of Egypt.

The former civilian soldiers of the 153rd gathered in formation for a ceremony prior to boarding three chartered buses for the trip to Jacksonville. Family members gathered around in the National Guard Armory next to the Searcy Regional Airport to see their loved ones off, many in tears as the Guard unit members loaded their gear on the buses and prepared for their departure.

An advance team left Wednesday and is already in Colorado preparing for the arrival of the rest of the unit.

Lieutenant Colonel Steve Womack, who as a civilian serves as mayor of Rogers, moved through the crowd speaking to soldiers and family members as the unit was squared away and last minute details were attended to.

The soldiers were cautioned to remove any sharp objects such as knives or fingernail clippers from their pockets and place them into their checked baggage. Then, as everyone stood at attention, the Star Spangled Banner sounded over the public address system, followed by the U.S. Army's theme song, "Those Caissons Go Rolling Along," and then "God Bless America."

"As you go," said the unit chaplain, Major David Tews, "remember the second motto of the Army, which is "hurry up and wait.' As you do that today, take these words of God with you."

He then read from the Old Testament book of Isaiah and bestowed a blessing on the troops.

"The Lord bless you and keep you," Major Tews intoned solemnly. "The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."

After several soldiers were called forward and recognized for putting in requests to extend their terms of service in the guard, the order was given to load the busses.

"Moving 600 plus people to Fort Carson is no easy task," Womack told The Daily Citizen as soldiers and families moved outside the armory building and toward the busses. "I have to give my administrative people high marks for getting the details taken care of that make it possible for us to get this job done."

Womack said the mood among the soldiers seemed to consist primarily of anticipation, and that the unit seemed to be highly motivated and energized.

"Arkansas can be proud of these men," he said as he looked around.

"It's difficult, but they have done terrific," he said of the families of the soldiers. "The families, employers and the community have accepted with honor their role to keep the home fires burning and give the men the mental clarity to get out and do their jobs."

Womack said the unit will spend two months at Fort Carson and will be given leave to come back home and spend Christmas with their families before they are deployed to Egypt. Although more than 600 men are heading to Colorado for training, he said some will be left behind.

"There will be some who won't go," he commented. "Some will be medically disqualified, there will be some hardship cases. That's the nature of this business."

He said historically, the Sinai region has been a safe mission for the peacekeeping troops, but he did not wish to downplay the possibility of risk to the troops.

"It has a significant threat condition as that whole area does," Womack said. "But there haven't been many issue with the MFO.

"However," he added, "we are in the early stages of a war on terrorism and that whole area has been in conflict for many years. We will perform our mission whatever the threat condition and we will hope for an uneventful mission. I hope the worst thing we have to combat is boredom."

Chaplain Tews mentioned that four chaplains have been assigned to counsel the troops and help them make the necessary adjustments to their new roles. He said that he will continue to be assigned in this area to help the families adjust as the changes begin to be felt more strongly.

"Some families are doing better than others," he said. "Most are holding up very well but it's the long haul we're concerned with."

Tews said most of the troops seemed to be excited about going overseas.

"They are pretty excited about this, and they are hoping to get in some trips to see the area, Israel and some other places," he said. "But they know the other side of it too, and that it could take longer than six months."

Tews said the men are committed to a year if necessary, or even longer if the war should prove to be a protracted affair. The speed with which the troops have been deployed has also been a factor in the overall stress both the soldiers and their families must combat, he said.

"This is quick, 10 days and they are gone," Tews noted. "There's a lot of pressure on everyone."

At 5 a.m., with families watching and flags waving, to the strains of patriotic music played over a public address system, the Gunslingers, led by a police escort, left the armory and headed off to, as Womack said with obvious pride, "to make history."

At the driveway to the armory, a street sign designating the drive as "Gunslinger Alley" stood to mark the entrance. That sign, which bears the nickname of the unit, known as "The Gunslingers," will soon follow the men along with another street sign marking "Bowie Boulevard."

Womack explained that the Bowie knife is the symbol for the 39th Brigade and that all field grade officers and command sergeant majors (CSMs) wear personalized Bowie knives as part of their uniform.

He told The Daily Citizen that the street department in Rogers had the signs made for him as a going away gift, a gift he said he will put to good use.

"We're going to post these signs up somewhere in the Sinai," he said.

The unit commander said the Searcy National Guard unit is not only the largest Guard unit to be called up to date, he said, but it is the first made up of 100 percent National Guard troops to be deployed on the peacekeeping mission to Egypt. The men are to replace a regular army unit that is being transferred to another area of operations.

"It's a lot of responsibility but it's something we've prepared for all of our lives," Womack said as he watched the busses pull away for the half-hour ride to Jacksonville. "It's our Super Bowl. I'm confident in the abilities of these men to carry out our mission."

Veterans Affairs