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Southern Indiana soldiers make final preparations before deploying to Iraq
FORT STEWART, Ga. — Nate Frazier’s 5-year-old daughter, Isabell, knows her dad will be gone for a long time.
But she’s too young to understand why.
So Frazier, a specialist with the 1st Battalion 152nd Infantry, tries to explain it as easily as he can. The 26-year-old from Sellersburg has been in the National Guard for 41/2 years and will deploy overseas next week for the first time.
“She watches TV. She knows there’s bad guys out there,” Frazier said. “Daddy’s going to go take care of the bad guys.”
Frazier is one of about 400 soldiers with the New Albany-based unit deploying to Iraq as part of the Indiana Army National Guard’s 76th Brigade.
The unit — nicknamed the Ghost Riders — is expected to be deployed for at least a year. The unit will be stationed north of Baghdad and will be mainly responsible for providing security for convoys in Iraq, state officials said.
Soldiers will ride in their own Humvees to escort other armored vehicles patrolling the streets and looking for improvised explosive devices or other safety threats.
In between learning how to clear buildings, deal with unruly crowds and perform hand-to-hand combat, local soldiers at Fort Stewart recently talked about the differences between this deployment and the unit’s last in 2004 to Afghanistan, missing their families and the dangers they’ll face overseas.
In 2004, the unit deployed along with members of Fort Wayne’s 1st Battalion 293rd Infantry to Afghanistan for about a year.
Different time, different place
In Afghanistan soldiers looked for land mines. In Iraq, they’ll look for the improvised explosives.
When the unit deployed to Afghanistan, soldiers spent time near Kabul and Hera patrolling the streets on foot and were able to build relationships with residents. That likely won’t be the case this time, said 1st Sgt. Scott Ham, of New Albany.
There Ham, 40, worked with village elders to drill water wells, he said. Ham, who’s been in the National Guard for 20 years, is a manager at Silver Creek Water Corp.
“This mission will be totally different,” he said.
But soldiers will still be able to help people in trouble as they travel their routes, Ham said. Soldiers already practiced this in training, he said, when they encountered an Iraqi played by an actor whose wagon had overturned. Soldiers helped the man get it upright and, in return, he alerted them to some nearby terrorist activity. Similar scenarios played out in real life when the unit was last deployed, Ham said.
“We stopped by to provide some Hoosier hospitality ... and it paid dividends because he was able to trust us,” he said.
With new weapons and other technology to learn to use, the training at Fort Stewart has been more intense than what the unit received before deploying in 2004, Ham said.
About 3,400 soldiers from across the state will deploy to Iraq, the largest deployment of Indiana National Guard soldiers since World War II, state officials said. The deployment also marks the first time a full National Guard combat brigade will be sent to Iraq for a second tour.
Indiana units will serve as replacement forces in the regular unit rotation for the war and not as additional troops. Even with the large deployment, about 8,000 National Guard and Air National Guard troops will remain in the state, officials said.
Unlike full-time service members, many National Guard soldiers are civilians called to active duty during times of war or disaster. The citizen-soldiers will leave behind their civilian jobs in addition to family members.
A Saturday send-off ceremony at Fort Stewart is planned.
‘So far away from home’
Spc. Jon Fisher, 23, of New Albany, says he and wife, Rhiannon, are trying to look at the positives as his first overseas deployment draws near. They’re hoping the money he earns overseas will help them buy a house.
A member of the National Guard for three years, Fisher says he’s anxious about the unknown.
“I’m kind of nervous about the whole experience,” he said. “I’ve never been so far away from home.”
Despite the danger the unit will face in Iraq, Ham says his Christian faith takes the fear out of deploying. Ham and wife Heidi have two children, son, Hickory, 15, and daughter Harvest, 12.
Ham plans to retire from the guard after he returns to spend more time with his family, he said.
“I am good for eternity,” he said. “So no matter what happens, my family is safe and secure knowing that God will take care of me. Every day, God will show me why I’m on this mission.”
Staff Sgt. Alex Thompson, 29, of New Albany, echoes the sentiments of many 152nd soldiers: They’re ready. Thompson and wife, Christina, have a son Xander, 6.
“Training is great, but to us we’re always chomping at the bit. We’re ready to go and get it done,” he said.
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