OF THE 29TH
INFANTRY BRIGADE
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Army National Guard soldiers
are honored at a luau as they
prepare for a year in Iraq
Twin brothers Christopher and Cody Koanui could have stayed home when the Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Infantry Brigade was mobilized for combat duty in Iraq in August.
"I know my parents don't want us to go, but I know it's my responsibility," said Spc. Chris Koanui, who is the elder of the two by three minutes. "It wasn't right if I stayed and he went. I felt it's important to go with my brother. We're in the same platoon and I can offer him support and he can offer me support."
Chris Koanui was supposed to join the Honolulu Police Department's six-month recruit class last month. Instead, the Koanui twins, along with 2,200 citizen soldiers, will be leaving for Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, beginning Oct. 3 for nearly three months of pre-deployment training. Guard members are hoping for Christmas leave before reporting for another month of final evaluation and combat certification at Fort Polk in Louisiana.
Their yearlong mission to replace soldiers of the Washington Army National Guard's 81st Brigade is expected to begin in March.
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Sgt. Cody Koanui, who worked as a leading screener for the Transportation Security Administration at Honolulu Airport, completed basic training right after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. After serving as a member of the National Guard's airport security force, he knew "it was inevitable that we would be activated."
"Our grandmother always said we were like yin and yang," added Cody Koanui, who with his brother graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2000. "We so different. My brother is right-handed. I'm left-handed. My brother is the artistic one and plays the ukulele and likes to draw, and I am drawn to athletics."
Chris Koanui added: "But when we play basketball together, I always know where my brother is. That's why I want to go to Iraq, so we can look out for each other."
The Koanuis and 380 members of the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery, were honored at a farewell luau at Wheeler Army Airfield yesterday. More than 1,200 soldiers, friends and family members attended the luau -- one of several planned this weekend before the 29th Brigade begins its first combat mission since the Vietnam War.
The entire brigade will be honored Saturday at Aloha Stadium just before the University of Hawaii football game against Tulsa. With 2,200 citizen soldiers standing at attention in their new sand and tan desert camouflage fatigues, Brig. Gen. Joe Chaves, the brigade's commander, will unfurl and store the unit's flag, which will stay cased until the soldiers reach their Iraqi assignment.
In his brief remarks yesterday, Chaves asked those present "to keep the soldiers in your prayers."
Later, Chaves said the brigade will have achieved all of its training objectives at Schofield Barracks by the end of this week
Pvt. Stephen Garrett, who at 19 is the youngest member of the 487th, never expected to be called up for active duty when he joined the National Guard after graduating from Campbell High School in 2003. He had returned home from advance infantry training on Aug. 15 and a day later his unit was mobilized.
Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Cambra, who served in the Vietnam War on the USS Sheldrike as a Navy electrician, is taking "everything one day at a time." At 57 years old, Cambra, with 32 years of service including six in the Navy, is the oldest member of the 487th.
Cambra, who retired as a city refuse supervisor Sept. 1, was looking forward to retiring from the National Guard in July 2006, but the Iraqi deployment will prolong his military service by several months.
With two years of Vietnam combat duty, Cambra's advice to the younger troops is "to stay alert," he said. "Stay alive. It's an attitude thing, Your attitude has to be positive all the time. When it gets bad, that's what will get you into trouble."
Shanna Arment, who has been married for five years to Spc. Jason Arment, didn't know what was going on until she read about the brigade's mobilization in the newspapers.
"It's a sad moment," said the mother of Kainoa, 22 months, and Alyssa, 4. "I didn't expect him to leave since the National Guard before never went anywhere."
