Local National Guard unit heads to Iraq

FORT LEWIS, Wash. – The 639th Quartermaster Co. of the Montana National Guard, based in northwest Montana, is more than a mere military unit, it's a family.

And with several married couples and more than a few sets of siblings, its not hard to see why.

"We're just one big family going over there," said Staff Sgt. Amy Good of Libby, who is married to Staff Sgt. Glen Good. "I think we're like that as a whole, anyway."

Staff Sgt. Glen Good's brother, Spc. Gene Good, is also shipping out with the unit. The last time the 639th deployed in 2004, there were four Good brothers along for the tour.

The unit's sense of family and camaraderie will play an important role during their one-year deployment to the Middle East. The Goods and the rest of the 639th left for Iraq – the military asked not to say specifically where until the unit arrives – late Friday evening.

"I think, for the first part of it, it will be kind of rough, getting used to things," said Spc. Leann Chenoweth of Kalispell. "But overall I think it'll be fine."

Chenoweth, a certified nurse's aide, expects to work in logistics – supplying other units with food and water.

"It's pretty open right now," she said.

The 639th has been training at Fort Lewis in Washington state since early January. Soldiers have received instruction in marksmanship, convoy travel, live fire exercises, and cultural awareness, said Spc. Jay Walters of Libby.

Walters, who joined the National Guard full-time after his job in an Idaho mill disappeared, is temporarily leaving behind a wife, 9-year-old son, and 7-year-old daughter.

"When I left to come here, it was pretty hard on them," Walters said. "They didn't want to let me go."

Spc. Brian Aubrey, a light-wheel vehicle mechanic from Kalispell, is on his second deployment to Iraq. Indeed, a 'significant portion" of the members of the 639th are on a repeat assignment, said Adjunct General of the Montana National Guard John Walsh.

"Their success will be based on a team effort, so they really need to take care of each other," Walsh said. "I can't emphasize how proud … I am of each and every one of these soldiers for what they're doing."

The 639th – which is made up of about 120 men and women from Kalispell, Libby, and Havre – will be providing logistical support for other U.S. Army and National Guard units. The company will be managing a warehouse, operating a 6 million gallon fuel farm, and supervising a bottled water plant, said Capt. Jeremy Hedges, the 639th's commander.

"We're 100 percent prepared," Hedges said. "We've gone through extensive training in Montana and another month of training at Fort Lewis. The soldiers are ready to go and ready to take on the mission we've got coming to us."

Walsh, who commands the state's National Guard, and Gov. Brian Schweitzer were at Fort Lewis Friday to see the 639th off.

"In a civilized society like we have, we've got to count on you to protect us," Schweitzer told the unit, which had gathered in an aging base chapel to hear the governor speak.

After joking with the assembled soldiers about the quality of their food and quarters, Schweitzer spoke about his personal experiences in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia – the blisteringly hot weather, the regularity of the five-time daily Muslim call to prayer, and the burnt patches of sand around oil wells from the first Gulf war.

"Take care of yourselves, take care of each other," Schweitzer told the soldiers.

Schweitzer also promised care and support for the families some soldiers were leaving behind. One solder mentioned a problem getting her child into a day-care program. Walsh said he would fix it.

"I just want the soldiers to rest assured that resources are available for their families while they're deployed," Walsh said. "That's the last thing they need to worry about."

Walsh – who expressed confidence in the preparedness of the unit – said he visited Fort Lewis to make any last-minute adjustments the soldiers needed on the homefront, gather input on how to improve training for units following the 639th overseas, and to wish the men and women of the unit his best.

"All you're going to be focused on for the next year is … doing your mission," Walsh told the troops. "It's a long haul."

The 639th is the second Montana National Guard unit recently deployed to the Middle East. The 143rd Military Police Co., based out of Livingston, left for Iraq in early December.

A third Montana National Guard unit, Task Force Raven of the 189th Aviation Battalion, is undergoing pre-deployment training at Fort Sill, Okla., and is expected to be deployed to Iraq in the coming weeks.

In addition, a security force from the Montana Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Wing based near Great Falls left earlier this week for a tour in Kyrgyzstan, said Montana Air National Guard Maj. Tim Crowe.

(Nicholas Ledden is a reporter for the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell).