Local troops take new Mideast tour in stride
The commander of the famed Army Reserve 100th Battalion says he "senses strong confidence and a businesslike approach" in his soldiers as the unit prepares for its second Middle East combat mission.
Two years ago the 100th Battalion/442nd Infantry deployed to Iraq as part of the Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and was stationed at Logistical Support Area Anaconda near Balad.
In October the 500 citizen soldiers of the 100th Battalion will again join the 29th Brigade when it deploys to Kuwait for a year. Along with the 29th Brigade's 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, the soldiers of the 100th Battalion will guard convoys moving from Kuwait to Baghdad and other forward operating bases in Iraq. The rest of the brigade will be spread throughout Kuwait, performing administrative and security detail jobs.
For the past 30 days, Lt. Col. Mike Peeters, who commands the 100th Battalion, said his unit has had to endure the 100-degree heat of Fort Hunter Liggett in California, located about 250 miles north of Los Angeles, as it underwent pre-mobilization training. Unlike the 1,200 soldiers assigned to the 29th Brigade, who are doing similar training at Schofield Barracks, the 100th Battalion was sent to California and will be returning Thursday in time for the Aloha Stadium farewell ceremony, which will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The 165,000-acre California post is the largest Army Reserve installation. The 100th Battalion arrived at Fort Hunter Liggett on July 18 for extended summer annual training.
More than 65 percent of the soldiers in his unit deployed with the 29th Brigade in 2005, Peeters said. About 150 Army reservists in the 100th Battalion are from Hawaii, and the remaining soldiers come from American Samoa and the mainland.
"Many of these soldiers were on the last deployment, and they understand the importance of training to a high level," Peeters told the Star-Bulletin by phone while observing a .50-caliber live-fire demonstration yesterday at a Hunter Liggett firing range.
"Most have been part of or led combat patrols, and they have passed on many of the lessons learned to their young troops," Peeters said.
Hawaii Army National Guard officials have said that more than 1,000 of the 1,200 soldiers they are mobilizing next Tuesday have already served in Iraq or Afghanistan. All the soldiers will spend another two months of training in Texas before flying to Kuwait.
However, newcomers like Pfc. Victor Woods of Pearl City will be making their first deployment.
During the pre-deployment training, Woods practiced his shooting skills with the shotgun and pistol, saying, "It was my first time firing them."
Several of the returning combat veterans volunteered when they heard that the 100th Battalion was mobilized for its second combat tour.
Capt. Jeff Wyatt, a company executive officer on the last deployment, left his job as a police officer in Jacksonville, Fla., just to be with the 100th Battalion. "When Lt. Col. Peeters called in April, I told him save a spot for me. It was like returning to my family again, and many of the same men are here from the last deployment."
The 1,200 soldiers from the Hawaii Army National Guard and the additional 500 from the Army Reserve will leave for Fort Hood in Texas next Tuesday.
The 100th Battalion's lineage can be traced to the highly decorated World War II combat unit comprised mainly of Japanese-Americans.
