Sun Photo by Phil Gentry: Sgt. Sidney Barkley, a 278th
Armored Cavalry Regiment soldier from northern Greene
County, speaks to a first-grade class at EastView
Elementary School about 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Shown
seated to the left of Barkley in the photo is his son,
Tanner, 6, a member of the class. At left is teacher
Kim Russell. Barkley and the rest of the soldiers who
make up the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 278th ACR
are scheduled to leave as soon as late this month for
duty in Iraq.

By: BILL JONES/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
11-06-2004

A 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment soldier who is scheduled to leave for Iraq soon spoke to his son’s first-grade class at EastView Elementary School on Friday morning.

With his son, Tanner, 6, seated beside him, Sgt. Sid Barkley spoke at 11:30 a.m. as the 17 other first-graders in Kim Russell’s class sat clustered on the floor around his chair.

Barkley, a large man with a shaved head, was dressed in his military green-and-brown camouflage utility uniform that made him look out of place in the padded wicker chair in which he sat as he spoke to the children.

As Sgt. Barkley spoke, young Tanner Barkley sat quietly and occasionally touched his father’s camouflaged sleeve.

"My name is Sgt. Sidney Barkley," the soldier told the youngsters as he introduced himself. "Of course I think everyone knows I’m Tanner’s dad. I thought I would come by today and just let you know a little bit of what goes on in the Army."

Talks About Tanks

Barkley asked if anyone knew what a tank was. Several first-graders quickly raised their hands as Barkley went on to explain that his military job is that of a turret mechanic.

"I work on the top portion of the tank. You know, where the big gun is. It’s my job to make sure that that tank will function to the best of its ability."

He asked the children if they knew anyone else who was in the Army. Several said they had relatives who had been in the military.

Discusses Iraq

Barkley then turned to the subject of ongoing U.S. military operations in Iraq.

"It's not really a war," Barkley told children. "We’re over there in Iraq trying to help the kids like you. We’re building schools. We’re building hospitals. We’re building homes."

He told the youngsters that children in Iraq didn’t have the kind of homes and public services that children in America enjoy.

"The sad part is that some kids over in Iraq your age don’t get to go to school," he said. "They don’t have running water. They don’t have indoor bathrooms. They don’t have the luxuries that we have.

"One of our jobs, as the Army, is trying to help the people of Iraq and help the children get an education like you all are getting."

Barkley told the first-graders that they need to work hard in school.

"Every day when you come to school, you need to do the best you can," he said.

Also during his remarks, Barkley asked the children if they knew the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

The hands of all 18 first-graders in the room instantly shot into the air.

Barkley then asked one of the students to lead everyone in reciting the pledge.

Eighteen small voices soon were reciting the pledge in unison with Barkley and teacher Russell.

After the pledge was completed, Russell told Barkley that all the students had made greeting cards for him, and she handed him a stack of handmade, folded cards.

Barkley read each card aloud, asking who had made each card and offering thanks to the card’s maker.

Special Cards

Most of the cards featured American flags, a fact that Barkley noticed. He asked if anyone knew how many stars the American flag has. Almost instantly, a small boy said "50."

Another youngster, without being prompted, volunteered that the flag also has 13 stripes "because there used to be 13 states."

One card that Barkley received had pictures of trees drawn on it.

"There aren’t a lot of green trees where I’m going," Barkley remarked, almost wistfully.

Another card featured a drawing of a golf course, and several others showed figures with golf clubs.

Barkley said someone must have told the class that he liked to play golf.

He noted that he and a friend planned to play golf on Friday afternoon.

Answers Questions

Barkley asked if the children had any questions for him. Several posed questions, and Russell asked Barkley to describe what a day would be like for him in Iraq.

He said soldiers in Iraq normally are assigned to what is called a forward operating base (FOB). "The places where everybody stays is called an FOB," he said.

"You go out on missions, like reconnaissance, where you go out and see if there are any bad people around. Or maybe take supplies, like food and water, to a little town.

"You start early in the morning and go to late at night. Everyone has a mission."

Barkley said he did not know exactly what his unit’s specific mission in Iraq would be. But, in general, he said, the Army’s overall mission is "to protect freedom in America and spread freedom to other countries."

Fellow Soldier Visits

After his visit with the students, Barkley said he and his wife, Sherry, also are the parents of a 3-year-old daughter, Madison.

The family lives in the West Pines community of northeastern Greene County, he said.

Before his visit with the first-graders began, Barkley encountered in the school hallway another 278th ACR soldier, Sgt. Mark Snead, who had come to the school on Friday to visit fifth-grader Augusta Crawford, his niece.

Both Tennessee Army National Guardsmen said they were assigned to the maintenance section of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment’s Second Squadron headquarters company.

Both also said they have to leave Greeneville on Tuesday, Nov. 9, in order to be back at Camp Shelby, Miss., by midnight that day.

The soldiers of the 278th ACR are on leave with their families after completing about four months of training at Camp Shelby, Miss., and Fort Irwin, Calif.

A massive "departure ceremony" for the unit is planned for Thursday, Nov. 11, at Camp Shelby, Miss.

The soldiers are expected to begin moving to Kuwait by late in the month, and subsequently to Iraq, where they may spend up to a year before returning home.

Story Copyright to Greene County Online