October 5, 2005

By Ashley Rowland
Staff Writer

Members of a Tennessee-based National Guard unit have spent nearly a year in Iraq. Now, they may have to spend an extra week or so away from their families because of a shortage of hotel rooms on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.

The 4,000 members of the 278th Regimental Combat Team are scheduled to begin returning from Iraq this month. Their first destination is Camp Shelby, Miss., 26 miles from Hattiesburg.

Hattiesburg now is home to thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees, emergency response workers and construction crews.

Some family members are finding that hotels in southern Mississippi are booked solid.

"There's really nowhere for us to go. Unfortunately, we're going to end up waiting another 10 days for our family members to get back," said Lisa Nyholm-Richmond, whose husband expects to leave Iraq (changed text) after his 14-month deployment.

The 278th has been stationed in Iraq since November 2004 after spending last summer and fall training at Camp Shelby and Fort Irwin, Calif.

The group's members are expected to leave Iraq in staggered shifts (changed for security reasons) according to a Sept. 4 letter from Lt. Col. Jeffrey Holmes in Iraq.

According to the letter, soldiers will arrive at Camp Shelby three to five days after they leave Iraq. They will be given two days to spend with their families during the seven-to-10-day redeployment process.

Mrs. Nyholm-Richmond wants members of Tennessee's congressional delegation to help change the 278th's return site to Fort Campbell, Ky., or another military base.

"I really haven't had any luck finding out why there isn't another place they can send them," the Nashville resident said.

Members of U.S. Sen. Bill Frist's staff said Tuesday they were looking into the matter, saying they talked with military officials about changing the 278th's point of arrival.

"We are looking at options and doing everything we can," said Amy Call, Sen. Frist's spokeswoman. "But the quickest solution may be Camp Shelby. We really want to get the soldiers home as soon as possible."

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., said Fort Campbell is the "ideal place" for the 278th to debrief. Arnold Air Force Station in Tullahoma, Tenn., is another option, he said.

"If a congressman from Tennessee can make it happen, I will drop everything and move heaven and earth to make it happen," he said.

Harvey Valentine, spokesman for Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said the senator is prepared to help the 278th if asked formally.

National Guard spokesman Randy Harris said he could not confirm when the 278th will return because those dates are subject to change.

He said Army officials are aware that some family members are having trouble booking hotel rooms near Camp Shelby, but he said the decision is up to the First Army Command.

"There's a lot of equipment that they drew from Camp Shelby that has to go back to Shelby," he said.

Kristie Fairly, manager of the Hattiesburg Visitors Center, said the city's 2,000 hotel rooms are booked through the end of the year.

Hattiesburg, normally a city of 50,000, saw its population swell by 15,000-20,000 after Hurricane Katrina. Evacuees, contractors and workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross took up residence there.

Ms. Fairly said the city's campgrounds are booked, and an undetermined number of people are living in tent cities.

"We are practically the beachhead to the coast at this point," she said.

Ms. Fairly said that it's difficult to find a hotel room anywhere south of Jackson, Miss.

Chattanooga resident Jen Gienapp, whose husband works in a 278th medical platoon, said about half the members of her family support group had their hotel reservations canceled after Hurricane Katrina.

She booked a room in a hotel near Jackson, just within the 100-mile radius her husband is required to stay in during his leave, she said.

Others weren't so lucky.

"A lot of family members are not going because of gas prices and because of the difficulty of getting a hotel room," Mrs. Gienapp said.

Mrs. Nyholm-Richmond said she last saw her husband during his 10-day leave in March. While in Iraq, he helped man checkpoints and clear roads. He also was riding in one of two trucks that were hit by insurgent fire, killing three soldiers on board.

After 14 months away from her husband, a few extra days apart is painful, she said.

"Once it gets down to the wire, every minute seems like forever," she said. "I'm just really ready to hold on to him and not let go."

Staff writer Edward Lee Pitts contributed to this story.

E-mail Ashley Rowland at arowland@timesfreepress.com

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