201st Battalion To Depart on Monday

[ballparent]

A wonderful ceremony today for my son-in-law and his fellow troop members. Here's prayers that they all return home safe at the end of their deployment and a big thank you for what they do for those of us at home.

201st to depart Monday

Ceremony Saturday at Boyd Middle

Mary Music/The Independent

Ashland — The Kentucky Army National Guard’s 201st Engineer Battalion will host a departure ceremony on Saturday for about 480 soldiers from Ashland, Olive Hill, Cynthiana and Prestonsburg.

Several state officials, including Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, the 52nd adjutant general of Kentucky, and Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo will address the crowd at the Boyd County Middle School gymnasium. VFW Post 1169, which adopted the unit a couple of years ago, is expected to present the battalion with an award at the 1 p.m. ceremony.

On Monday, the soldiers will head toward McCoy, Wis., where they will train for approximately two months before being deployed to Afghanistan.

The mission will last a year.

In Afghanistan, the unit will construct roads and buildings, clear roads, remove obstacles and ensure main supply routes remain open. Lt. Daniel Griffith, who returned in September after serving as a patrol platoon leader for a year in Iraq, said some of the efforts will be “community goodwill” work to help Afghani neighborhoods.

“That’s opinionated. I’d like to stay away from that,” said Griffith when asked if the Afghanistan mission will be dangerous. “Any time you leave the U.S. and your home, the level of danger increases. But I’m sure we’re trained well enough to handle any situation.”

The unit recently trained for a week in Fort Knox and two weeks in Greenville, where it learned techniques on individual weaponry, route clearances and “everything we need to successfully complete the mission,” Griffith said.

The battalion was constituted in 1846 and since that time, its men and women have provided disaster relief services to various communities. In 1997, the battalion soldiers were first responders to a flood that damaged Boyd, Greenup, Lewis and other counties. The unit also provided disaster relief in several states after Hurricane Katrina. For the past two years, the battalion has conducted numerous border control operations, such as building fences, on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Being engineers, we’re a great asset to disaster relief, but we are trained to do whatever is necessary,” Griffith said.

The Department of Defense ordered the battalion’s departure to Afghanistan in December and this trip marks the first time the entire battalion has been deployed overseas for this war, Griffith said. Between 2002 and 2004, the battalion worked in the states for Operation Noble Eagle 2 and Operation Noble Eagle 3 — providing homeland defense and civil support services after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Part of Saturday’s ceremony will be to show the families “we’re there for them,” Griffith said.

The Guard has a family readiness group through which family members of Guard troops can stay informed and get help with financial needs and the mental strain of having loved ones away on overseas missions.

Veterans groups such as VFWs, American Legions and the AMVETS help the family readiness group by pooling community resources that provide families with discounted services and other needs.

The soldiers will be treated to a breakfast on Saturday morning, sponsored by King’s Daughters Medical Center, prior to the sendoff.

MARY MUSIC can be reached at [email protected] or (606) 326-2657.

[ballparent]

The one thing these guys need and appreciate (as you well know) is support from those of us at home. Thanks Fido.

[IHSTiger81]

The husband of a girl I work with is also in this Battalion. Prayers for safety while they are there, to be brought home safely and prayers for the families here waiting on their return.

[Runner]

My nephew, who is in a Marines Security Division, left California 2 weeks ago to head for Iraq. He will be there for about 6 -8 months from the last I heard then may go to Afghanistan.

Needless to say, everyone in his group was pumped up and ready to go.

[orange-n-brown 365]

may they stay safe

[ballparent]

The one thing these guys need and appreciate (as you well know) is support from those of us at home. Thanks Fido.

I think that would sum up the feelings of MOST who are deployed. Keep us posted. Hopefully, you'll get to visit prior to them leaving the States in May. Of course, a box of goodies from home is ALWAYS welcomed and shared amongst the masses.

They will get a few days leave (not many, 4-5) in April before they leave for their 10-month deployment in May. Here's hoping and praying the ten months passes quickly and safely for our soldiers and their families left behind. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

[orange-n-brown 365]

ballparent I somehow missed where you mentioned your son-in-law your family will be in my thoughts and prayers

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I WENT IN THE ARMY FROM THE ENGINEERS BATALLION FROM IRONTON. GOD SPEED TO YOU ALL. ----------- WE LOVE YOU , AND REMEMBER YOU IN EVERY PRAYER. HURRY BACK, AND BE SAFE.