GREGG K. KAKESAKO / GKAKESAKO@STARBULLETIN.COM Chief Warrant Officer Kevin Stone, front left, and Sgt. 1st Class Mike Buiglione un-cased their unit's flag yesterday during a ceremony marking the unit's year-long deployment.

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32 Army soldiers to crew
ships in Persian Gulf

This is the first Gulf deployment
for the 163rd Transportation

Thirty-two soldiers from the Army's navy stationed at Hickam Air Force Base will leave for the Persian Gulf tomorrow night to support the war in Iraq.

Chief Warrant Officer Kevin Stone, who heads the team from the Army's 163rd Transportation Detachment, said this will be the first time the unit deploys to the Persian Gulf.

Although individual soldiers of the 163rd have been sent to the Persian Gulf to crew the Army's 173-foot cargo vessels, Stone said there are advantages in a unit deployment. "We are used to working as a team. ... The camaraderie is there."

The 163rd is one of four units assigned to the 545th Transportation Company. It maintains two logistical support vessels here that the Army uses mainly to transfer soldiers and equipment to the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area. The third logistical support vessel is crewed by the Army Reserve's 548th Transportation Detachment.

This will be Stone's second combat tour to the Persian Gulf. His first one-year tour was in July 2003. At age 54 he will be the oldest soldier in the deployment. He said there are three other soldiers in his unit who also are returning to the area.

His soldiers will be expected to man a logistical support vessel, which can carry 2,500 tons of cargo.

Stone expects them to be hauling "damaged and shot-up equipment so they can be shipped back here to be fixed."

Sgt. James Waggoner of Pacific Palisades said he is looking forward to his first combat deployment as an engineman. Waggoner, 28, said his priority is "to make sure to bring all my Joes home ... to bring all my soldiers home."