GREGG KAKESAKO / GKAKESAKO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Maj. Gen. Eric Olson, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division, spoke yesterday with members of the 65th Engineer Battalion who were the first to deploy to Iraq from Schofield Barracks on March 11 and the last to return this week.
First of isle division
in Iraq return at lastFive combat engineers helped
to clear mines and guard prisoners
Five 25th Infantry Division combat engineers, who were the first to deploy to Iraq from Schofield Barracks nearly six months ago, were last to return this week.
At a special noon ceremony yesterday, Lt. Col. Andrew Jasaitis, commander of the 65th Engineer Battalion, said the five soldiers lived up to their unit's motto, "First in and last one out."
Maj. Gen. Eric Olson, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division, said, "These guys with their experience will make us more ready," referring to the division's next assignment, which will send 7,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, starting with 3,500 in February.
Sgt. Michael Stansbery, who served in the first Gulf War in 1991, said there would be no hesitation on his part if he is asked to serve a three-month tour in Afghanistan next year.
"That is why I came back in," said Stansbery, who left the Army after the 1991 Gulf War to get a college degree and re-enlisted in 2000. "It's my job."
Sgt. Christopher Jennings, 25, also said, "This is what I do for a living," noting that his other combat assignment was in Kosovo in 1999 with the 1st Infantry Division.
Asked to compare his two combat assignments, Jennings said he was struck by the lawlessness in Iraq and Kosovo.
"There was no law until we hit the ground in Kosovo," he said.
"In Iraq there was a mixture. A lot of civilians in the south loved to see us. They threw flowers. In other places they threw rocks. ... In the north they hung banners to let us know that they had fought with us in the last war."
Stansbery, who was with B Company, 498th Support Group, in the Gulf War, said that conflict was one "where troops actually went against troops."
"The latest was a fight with just a small band of fighters using guerrilla-style tactics," Stansbery said.
Jennings, who has been in the Army for seven years, said the enemy in Iraq "would just fire a few rounds and then run off and hide."
The five Tropic Lightning combat engineers left March 11 along with 107 Schofield Barracks soldiers who volunteered to fight in Iraq. They were attached to the 14th Engineer Brigade and fought with the 4th Infantry Division in Mosel, Baghdad and Tikrit.
The soldiers said their duties included mine-clearing operations, guarding Iraqi prisoners and ammunition supply points, and building weapons ranges for the Iraqi army.
Most of the Schofield Barracks soldiers returned home on June 5.
