Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2009

'Mom, I've got to bring them all back': Belleville Army Reserve Unit heads to Iraq

BELLEVILLE -- Dressed in desert camouflage and toting automatic weapons, 21 men and women assigned to the 969th Transportation Detachment stood in formation Monday morning at the Pfc. Raymond Gantner U.S. Army Reserve Center in Belleville.

Their family members stood nearby, some crying quietly, all waiting for that final moment when the soldiers boarded a bus to make the first leg of a 400-day deployment to Iraq.

"I make this pledge to you today," said Dwight Blankenship, pastor at the Parkway Baptist Church in St. Louis, to the men and women assembled at the center. "For 400 days I will pray every day and ask the Lord to watch over you."

The members of the unit, most of whom are from Illinois and Missouri, left for pre-deployment training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., on Monday following a farewell ceremony at the center. Members of the unit also hail from Indiana and Wisconsin. They were escorted out of the city by Belleville Police squad cars.

The team will spend 21 days at Camp Atterbury, where they will get processed and get recertified in weapons training.

Capt. Christ Pruitt of Kirkwood, Mo., is leading the unit on its deployment. He said the soldiers were anxious but ready to go.

"We knew about this 12 months ago, so we've been training and preparing for 12 months," he said. "Usually, the Army gives you 90 days, so we had a bit more time to get used to it. You think the day will never come, then it gets here and it's hard to believe. It's especially tough on our families."

Carol Schwan, a residential site director for the St. Clair Vocational Enterprises Inc. near Belleville, was at the farewell ceremony with 29 SAVE members to see the unit, and her son, off to war.

The SAVE members adopted the unit as part of a community service project and got to know its men and women.

"They all wanted to come up and say goodbye," Schwan said. "They are part of them. The community has given so much to SAVE, and we wanted to give back. What better way to give back than to come out and support our armed services men and women."

Schwan's son, Sgt. Robert Goodman, of Belleville, is one of the 21 deploying to Iraq. It is not his first deployment, she said, but it may be his hardest so far.

"This time it's different for him," Schwan said. "He's third in command of this unit, and he keeps telling me, 'Mom, I've got to bring them all back. I've got to bring them all back.' It's very sad for me, and this is really tearing me up this time."

She expects to be able to keep in regular contact with him during his deployment.

"In this day and age, with computers, it's pretty easy to stay in contact," she said. "There will be times where he can't get to a computer or make contact with us, but staying in contact won't be a problem."

Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert attended the farewell ceremony and thanked the soldiers for their service.

"I'm very honored to be here today to see you off on this very important and very serious journey," Eckert said. "We wish you Godspeed and will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. Be careful. You make us proud, and we wish you the best of luck."

The unit, which is a Highway Regulation Team that supervises convoy movements, was last deployed to Iraq in 2003. The team provides logistical support and supervises and controls the movement of military convoys and trucks.