Local National Guard unit put on alert

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Sgt. 1st Class Ronnie Argo, readiness officer for the McMinnville National Guard unit, said members of the local troop have mixed emotions about the possibility of being sent to Iraq. (Will Stewart photo)

Members of McMinnville’s National Guard unit may soon be heading for Iraq as the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, of which the unit is a part, was put on alert for likely deployment to the Mideast late this year or in early 2005, the Pentagon announced Monday.

While state and local guard officials were reluctant to discuss possibilities, the Pentagon said the 278th and three other major units from across the country will likely be called to be part of the third rotation of forces to support continuing operations in Iraq.

Mobilization of the units will probably begin over the next several months to conduct necessary training prior to deployment overseas. After their training is complete, the local unit could be deployed in Iraq for up 12 months.

State and local guard officials stressed, however, that any talk of where, when or even if I Troop, as the local unit is known, will be activated is purely speculation at this point.

“I Troop, as well as the entire 278th, has been put on alert status for possible mobilization,” said Tennessee National Guard spokesman Randy Harris. “Going on alert means the units will be performing administrative and operational checks in order to prepare themselves for any mission that might be designated by the President of the United States or the Secretary of Defense.

“I couldn’t speculate as to when or where the 278th might go. We may not go anywhere at all.”

The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment is one of only two Armored Cavalry Regiments in the U.S. Army. Equipped primarily with M1A1 Abrams Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, the 278th’s war mission is one of combat support mainly in the areas of reconnaissance, surveillance and security. Headquartered in Knoxville, the regiment has about 4,500 members. It has not been mobilized for active duty since the Korean War.

Sgt. 1st Class Ronnie Argo, I Troop’s readiness officer, said the unit’s 141 assigned men, of which about one-third are McMinnville residents, were told of the alert status Sunday.

“It wasn’t a big surprise to anybody,” he said. “Being in the guard it’s always a possibility. The men have mixed emotions, but generally their spirits are high. They’re glad the Army is finally looking at us and wanting to use us.”

Sgt. Jason Perry, an employee of Perry’s Paving and a two-year member of the local guard unit, agreed with Argo and said the general mood of his fellow troops is “gung-ho.”

“I figured we would have been activated before this,” he said. “We’ve felt like we were on the sidelines. Now it looks like we might get to be a part of it, though things are still up in the air.”

Perry added he’s lucky in that he doesn’t have a wife or children which he might have to leave, and that he feels sorry for those men who might have to leave their families.