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Kauai sends off
Guard members
going to Iraq
LIHUE >> Tears rolled down Kauai Mayor Bryan Baptiste's cheeks as he bid aloha to 65 National Guard members who will deploy to Iraq.
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Alpha Company of the 299th Infantry Regiment is scheduled to leave tomorrow for Schofield Barracks and then training on the mainland. They plan to be in Iraq by February.
It is the first deployment of the Kauai unit since 1968, when it was sent to Vietnam along with other units of the 29th Infantry Brigade.
Baptiste said the departure of the island's only Army National Guard unit to a combat zone is a shocking reality for Kauai.
"It's almost like we're insulated from all the bad things in the world because we live in paradise," Baptiste said. "Now it is coming home to us, and we feel a deep sense of pride."
Another speaker was retired Col. Teddy Daligdig, a Vietnam veteran who commanded
Alpha Company after it returned from Vietnam.
"This is one of the toughest moments in my life," Daligdig told the crowd as he tried, with little success, to hold back tears. "I retired last year, one year too early."
As the ceremony ended,
Daligdig and retired Lt. Col. Placido Valenciano, who commanded Alpha Company in the late 1980s, shook the hand of every member.
"I know all the old sergeants. They're a great bunch," Valenciano said.
The formal ceremony ended with the unit members spreading out through the crowd. Each was mobbed by well-wishers.
Baptiste had asked everyone attending to bring leis for the troops, and the soldiers were covered with flowers within minutes.
Other members of Alpha Company, including all the women who are truck drivers, departed for Schofield Barracks earlier in the week.
About half of Alpha Company is on Kauai. Another 100 members, including the company headquarters, drill on Oahu.
In all, about 2,000 National Guard soldiers of the 29th Infantry Brigade were mobilized throughout Hawaii on Monday. After processing at their local armories, all were scheduled to arrive at Schofield Barracks by the end of this week.
After an initial training period at Schofield Barracks, the 299th will be sent to Fort Bliss, just outside El Paso, Texas, for three months of training. They then will go to Fort Polk, La., for additional training.
Most of the past training for the 299th has been as light infantry and in jungle fighting. During the remainder of this year, they will be trained to fight from armored Humvees in the desert and in urban areas.
In February they are scheduled to relieve a Washington state National Guard brigade that has been pulling security duty in urban areas of Iraq.
www.dod.state.hi.us/hiarng/