DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Army National Guard helicopter pilots and crew demonstrated some of their duties involved in caring for the Chinook helicopter at Wheeler Army Airfield yesterday. They reported for active duty yesterday and will be going to Iraq.
Hawaii troops begin training for
their yearlong deployment in Iraq
Nearly four decades ago, fresh from Farrington High School, Sonny Gollero found himself in the jungles of Vietnam as a 19-year-old infantryman.
Today, Gollero, now first sergeant of Charlie Company of the Hawaii Army National Guard's 193rd Aviation, is on the verge of going into battle again. But this time, Gollero believes he has something to offer members of unit who will be in Iraq for a year.
"It's been a long journey," said Gollero, 56.
For a long time, Gollero said, his journey was marred by bouts with post-traumatic stress disorder.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Members of the Army Reserves' 411th Engineer Battalion from Hilo arrived in Honolulu yesterday for three months of training before going to Iraq. Aboard the bus headed to Schofield Barracks were Sgt. Jarrett Kodani, left, Spc. Todd Vincent and Sgt. Peter Mangaoang.
"I needed to get things back in order," he said. "It was smelling the flowers, hearing the birds sing again and seeing the sunrise. ... It was just the peacefulness of everything that helped me back."
Gollero had left the Army in 1973. But in 1981, he enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard, where he is now an aviation maintenance technician with the 193rd Aviation.
Now he is one of the 486 Army Reservists and 200 Hawaii Army National Guard soldiers activated for at least 18 months, with a year in Iraq. It is one of the largest mobilizations of island citizen soldiers since the Vietnam War.
Over the next two months, 4,800 25th Infantry Division soldiers also will be rotated into Iraq. Another 5,700 Schofield Barracks soldiers will see duty in Afghanistan.
"It's now my turn to give back," Gollero said. "I want to take my experiences to help teach and show the younger guys. ... It's all about training. The more you train, the more it becomes second nature to you.
"I didn't have that kind of training as a young 19-year-old soldier and was just thrown into battle."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Lt. Chris Kerr, left, and Chief Warrant Officer Carlos "Chico" Cantu inspected the center cargo hook inside an Army National Guard Chinook helicopter at Wheeler Army Airfield yesterday.
The members of Charlie Company will spend several months working on their combat skills before being sent to Iraq. They will be the first Hawaii Army Guard soldiers to enter that combat area.
Along with soldiers of the Pacific Army Reserve's 411th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), the 193rd began refresher training today at Schofield Barracks in anticipation of its yearlong Iraqi deployment.
The members of the 411th, which has 390 soldiers from Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, acknowledge that although they are proficient in their technical carpentry, masonry and other engineering skills, they need to work on their combat techniques, such as convoy movements.
Gollero said the same holds true for the 193rd. "These people know their jobs, but they still have to remember that they are now also infantry soldiers," he said.
Combat was far from Spc. Roxanne Shim's mind when she joined the Hawaii Army National Guard seven years ago.
As a single mother, Shim, 29, sought the benefits the Army Guard offers and "a chance to be in the service."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Pfc. Mateo Tysin, left, Pfc. Waylen Towata and Sgt. Randall Young waited for their duffel bags at a conveyor belt at Honolulu Airport yesterday. They and other members of the Army Reserves' 411th Engineer Battalion arrived from Hilo and will undergo three months of training at Schofield Barracks before heading to Iraq for a year.
"I have always wanted to join," said Shim, a 1993 Kau High School graduate. "It's a statement of how I feel about this country -- the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion -- that we have."
The call-up also prompted Shim and her boyfriend to move up their wedding to Dec. 12. "We had been making plans to get married in May," said Shim, the unit's only female crew chief. Shim had been commuting to Wheeler every month from Kona, where she works as a waitress, to train with the 193rd.
As for Gollero, this combat tour may be his final one -- the end of a journey.
"I need to be with them (his soldiers) on this journey. These are my soldiers -- the younger soldiers I have worked with now are the officers and pilots -- leaders of this group."
