Wednesday, 10/05/05

278th ACR Coming Home


By Gary Burton
Times editor

Members of the 278th National Guard Cavalry Regiment will be on their way back to the Volunteer State within the next two weeks as part of an early wave of soldiers returning from deployment in Iraq.

"There are about 100 troops coming back to Camp Shelby, Miss., on Oct. 18 as part of an advance group that will in-process the remaining soldiers when they come home in November," said Congressman Jim Cooper, who was visiting Ashland City earlier this week. "It will be good to have them all home again."

Cooper said the guardsmen will remain in Camp Shelby for a while to demobilize from their tour of duty in the Middle East.

"They will spend time there being checked out by doctors - both physically and mentally," he said. "The soldiers are also checked for any contraband or illegal weapons when they return to the U.S."

M Company of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Ashland City has been in Iraq for more than a year. When they deployed in the summer of 2004, they were initially transferred to Camp Shelby and other areas for intensive training prior to going overseas.

Some family members traveled to Mississippi to say farewell to their loved ones one last time before the long ride to Iraq, but Cooper said he advises against any family going to Camp Shelby this time.

"The area was hit very hard by Hurricane Katrina," he said. "The hotels down there are in bad shape and hardly any rooms are available. I wouldn't suggest traveling down there unless I was absolutely sure a room was open."

Cooper said he wants to reassure the troops that the jobs they left behind in 2004 would still be here waiting for them when they return. He said employers are required to bring deployed soldiers back into the work place after their return from active duty.

"If anyone has trouble going back to their former jobs because of their deployment overseas, I want to know about it," he said. "We should be doing all we can to help those soldiers out - not hindering them."

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