Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009

On guard: Illinois National Guard troops are far more than 'weekend warriors'

From deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq, working and training side-by-side with members of the Polish Armed Forces and keeping the peace on the border between Israel and Egypt, members of the Illinois National Guard stay busy.

Since 2001, the Illinois Air National Guard and Army National Guard have had between 600 and 1,000 members deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq at any given moment, according to Maj. Gen. William L. Enyart, the adjutant general of the state of Illinois. Before being named the adjutant general of Illinois, Enyart was a traditional National Guardsman and in civilian life was an attorney in Belleville.

His most recent assignment before he was selected adjutant general was deputy commanding general of the Illinois Army National Guard.

About 7,000 Illinois Army Guard members are deployed, more than half of the 10,000 members in the state. Illinois has about 3,000 members in the Air National Guard. About 2,000 Guard members serve full time. The remainder are traditional part-time "weekend warriors" who are now likely to deploy into a war zone just as often as active-duty military members.

"I think it is difficult for the families," Enyart said of the multiple deployments. "Even though these part-timers have had significant deployments, which is a challenge, I think they've stood up and done far more than their share."

Some members are on their third deployments, and others have volunteered to extend their deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Enyart said.

Tech. Sgt. David Lorig and Sr. Master Sgt. Tina Castelli are full-time members of the Guard who last deployed to Afghanistan in summer 2008. They were deployed for just over two months to handle personnel issues and coordination of deployed and soon-to-be-deployed members.

"It's a war-torn country, so we carried our weapons with us all the time," Castelli said. "I felt secure. We were very well-trained, and our leadership did a good job making sure we were secure."

Lorig said the portable dormlike facilities they lived in while deployed were "fairly nice for a deployed location."

The frequent deployments haven't affected recruitment numbers.

"Last month was the first time that all the Guard and Reserves met all their recruiting numbers," Enyart said. "The unit here at Scott is at 106 percent. Illinois is not having a problem with recruitment; nationally, recruitment is not a problem. When kids today sign up, they know what they are signing up for. There are no surprises. They are going in with their eyes wide open, and I think our recruitment numbers show that.

"I think there's a very strong element of service, and people want to feel they are making a difference."

National numbers released by the Army and Air National Guard support Illinois' recruitment experience.

The Army National Guard ended 2009 with 358,391 soldiers, or 100.1 percent of its fiscal year goal of 358,200 soldiers. It also met its retention goal by retaining 36,672 soldiers, or 106 percent of its goal of 34,593.

The Air National Guard surpassed its 2009 goal with 109,196 airmen, or 102.3 percent of its goal of 106,756 airmen. The Air Guard also retained 17,904 airmen, or 120.1 percent of its goal of 14,904.

Castelli is one of the many who decided to stay.

"I love it," Castelli said. "The military has been great to me, and it provides great stability and a sense of purpose. My career has been very rewarding."

U.S. Cmdr. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is pushing for more U.S. troops to be sent to Afghanistan. President Barack Obama has already called for more than 20,000 additional troops in Afghanistan, but McChrystal is requesting about 30,000 more troops.

Whether sending more troops is the right answer is a question "above my pay grade," Enyart said.

"I don't pretend to have a crystal ball," he added. "I don't know what the right approach is. I can tell you the soldiers there, the ones with boots on the ground living in the mud, really feel they are making a difference on a person-to-person level."

Enyart said that if McChrystal's requested increase is met, more Guard and Reserve forces would be deployed.

"The Guard and Reserve would have to be tapped more simply because there aren't enough active duty ready to meet that kind of increase," he said.

Up to 50 percent of deployed forces are Guard members, Enyart said.

Although most Guard members are part-time military, many have more experience in their chosen fields than young active-duty troops fresh out of basic training.

"The Guard is different than active duty," Enyart said. "A Guard lieutenant could be 35 years old with years of real-world experience. Some of our military police have 20 years of experience on the Chicago police force."

The Guard is working to send agricultural development teams to Afghanistan to help farmers in that country make the most of their land.

"That's a Guard mission," Enyart said. "I have members of the Guard who are farmers with years of experience and farm thousands of acres. They bring all that experience with them when they deploy."

While they are fulfilling their mission to supplement the U.S. military when needed, Guard members are balancing that requirement with their state mission to respond to natural disasters and state emergencies.

Last summer, 1,600 Guard members were tapped to help battle flooding in Illinois.

There are about 450 members training in Rock Island in preparation to deploy to Sinai, where they will fill the role as peacekeepers on the border between Israel and Egypt.

"That's an all-Guard mission and has been an all-Guard mission for over a decade," Enyart said. "Kosovo is now an all-Guard mission."

Enyart has learned to speak Polish as the state's adjutant general of and the director of the Illinois Department of Military Affairs. So have several other members of the Illinois National Guard, Enyart said.

"For the past 16 years, we've been training with the Poles," he said. "There are 18 National Guard members who serve with the Polish war group in Iraq and in the Ghazni province in Afghanistan."

When the Warsaw Pact collapsed in 1993, the United States partnered its various states with former members of the pact. Illinois was selected to partner with Poland because of its high Polish population and strong Polish heritage, especially in Chicago.

The State Partnership Program was designed to form partnerships between National Guard states and territories with partner countries to learn and appreciate each other's military capabilities, cultural heritage, religious foundations, economic systems and governmental structures. Illinois service members participate in annual, joint training exchanges with Polish troops.

Illinois Guardsmen and the Polish Armed Forces have deployed together as one group in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedoms, and members of the Illinois National Guard delivered the first F-16 fighter jet to Poland.

Enyart said the partnership between Illinois and Poland has been recognized by the Department of Defense as the best example of a state partnership in the program.