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National Guard Brigade Likely To Be Deployed To Afghanistan In 2009

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By JO-ANN JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2007

Updated: 12/14/2007 09:57 pm

DADE CITY - For the second time since America's war on terrorism began, soldiers trained at the National Guard Armory here are expected to serve in Afghanistan.

On Dec. 3, Department of Defense officials alerted the 53rd Infantry Brigade that its soldiers likely would be needed in Afghanistan in summer 2009.

The brigade, based in Pinellas Park, has 3,400 soldiers across the state, including 92 at the National Guard Armory here. The armory in Dade City is the only one in Pasco County.

"I don't look forward to going, but it is our responsibility," said Sgt. 1st Class Randal Sikes, who manages the armory. Sikes is among the 69 soldiers from Dade City who served in Afghanistan from April 2005 to July 2006.
Sikes and the other soldiers, then part of an artillery unit, helped guard a coalition base in Kabul where recruits were being trained to serve in the new Afghan National Army.

The local unit returned without suffering any casualties. The artillery unit disbanded a few months later, with some soldiers seeking reassignment and others joining a newly created unit here.

The new unit, a support company formed in January, will be expected to help sustain combat troops in Afghanistan, Sikes said.

The support company includes truck drivers who will transport parts, equipment and fuel to artillery troops in the field. It also includes cooks and mechanics who fix everything from trucks to weapons. The unit, which may expand, currently has 84 men and five women from across Central Florida.

"The truck drivers on the road - they will unfortunately be in harm's way more than anybody," Sikes said.

Drivers are subject to direct enemy fire and threats from roadside bombs. Mechanics also come under some risk, Sikes added.

The soldiers could be called up for full-time active duty in summer 2009, Sikes has been told - no matter who wins next year's presidential race.

Soldiers likely would undergo 30 days of intense training at a military base in the United States before being sent to Afghanistan. They would probably serve 10 1/2 months there - it's not clear where in the country - before rotating back home.

Soldiers also are aware their tour could be extended to two years, Sikes said.

The part-time soldiers and their families were alerted to the likely mission this far in advance to give everyone enough time to prepare for the demands of full-time duty and overseas deployment. Guardsmen also are expected to report more frequently from now on - perhaps twice a month, instead of once a month.

Most of the media's attention has been on the war in Iraq, where there are more troops. There has been less information about the situation in Afghanistan.

But military analyst Bruce Riedel said it's not surprising the military is sending more troops there. More have been needed for the past few years, he said.

Afghanistan is a critical target area in the war on terrorism, according to Riedel, who retired as an officer from the CIA and now works with the independent Brookings Institution in Washington.

Al-Qaida operatives are still training in the area and planning attacks on U.S. targets, just as they planned and executed the Sept. 11 attacks, he said.

In spite of the previous assistance from the United States, the new Afghan army is "still too small and too poorly equipped to defend that country," Riedel said. That's why more U.S. and international forces are needed.

The Florida troops understand and accept that responsibility, Sikes said.

"Artillery soldiers take pride in sending large explosive devices into the air to inflict damage or destroy the enemy," Sikes said.

"We're going to have to rid ourselves of some of the threats over there."

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston can be reached at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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