Tate finds altar before trip to Iraq

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Spc. Virgil Tate, 21, shows off one of I Troop’s many gas masks he is responsible for as the unit’s nuclear, biological and chemical specialist. The Rock Island resident will be leaving with the unit for Camp Shelby, Miss., next week. (Will Stewart photo)

If Virgil Tate had it his way, he’d be getting married in a couple months. But Uncle Sam has different plans for him.

As a member of I Troop, the local unit of the Tennessee National Guard, Spc. Tate, 21, will be leaving town with his fellow soldiers next week as I Troop and the rest of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment have received mobilization orders for Iraq, where they could remain through the end of 2006.

“Ashley (Holder) and I had been planning to get married in August, but we had to move it up to a few weeks ago because of all this,” Tate said. “We’d gone out for two years. She’s my best friend.”

A 2001 graduate of Warren County High School, Tate, the son of David and Theresa Tate of Rock Island, enlisted with the local group when he was 17 and attended basic training immediately following graduation. As one who loves his country, community and challenges, he said joining I Troop seemed a natural decision for him.

As a citizen-soldier, he worked as a civilian at Morrison Tool and Fab, putting on his Army green only one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer. In January, however, he went to work for the unit full-time in an administrative and logistical capacity.

With nearly four years military experience, Tate said being a member of I Troop has been more of a challenge than he originally thought, though he added he has loved his experience and hopes to be able to put in 20 or 30 years with the local group.

But now that I Troop is headed for Iraq, does he have any regrets about joining up?

“No, because when you join the National Guard you know something like this is a possibility and you have to be ready for it. If you’re not, that’s your fault.”

I’m excited and anxious about going,” continued Tate. “I don’t like the waiting process though, it gives you too much time to think,” he said.

With attacks against American soldiers occurring seemingly every day, is he scared?

“No,” he said quickly, followed by a reflective pause. “Well, maybe just a small bit.”

He said his new bride certainly has her worries and does not want him to be gone for so long, but he noted that she is a strong woman who is ready for his deployment. While he’s gone, she will move to Cookeville, where she is pursuing a degree at Tennessee Tech.

Though trained as a cavalry scout who additionally serves as the I Troop’s nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) specialist, Tate was tight-lipped when asked what he would be doing in Iraq, saying only he would follow the chain of command in doing whatever is required of him.

When he returns from the Mideast, he said he would like to find a full-time job in the military. If he can’t, he said he hopes to use money from the G.I. Bill to go into the radiology field.