10/24/05

Neither the nation nor its neighbors will soon forget the contributions made by the members of the 278th Regimental Combat Team in Iraq and for their fellow soldiers.

The Tennessee Army National Guard unit is on its way back home after being deployed in June 2004. The 278th is based in Knoxville but includes members from across the state, including Middle Tennessee. Three thousand Tennessee Guardsmen make up the unit along with 1,000 soldiers from various states. Some members have already arrived but the majority will be returning today in Gulfport, Miss.

It was one brave soldier of the 278th, Army Spc. Thomas Jerry Wilson, who challenged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on why soldiers had to scavenge for materials to protect their vehicles. The question, televised nationally, touched off a debate about how well prepared the U.S. government was to send its soldiers off to war. And it produced some results in the kind of equipment that was later sent to protect soldiers in Iraq.

But the unit's legacy will be remembered by Iraqis, too. Among the 278th's duties was training Iraqi police and army. They helped open schools. And they worked on basic public services such as digging wells for drinking water, providing water and sewer as well as improving roads.

Some of the unit's members made the greatest sacrifice of all. Ten soldiers from the unit gave their lives in the line of duty in Iraq.

This is an unusual war because of the use of so many guard units in various positions. None are more extraordinary than the 278th. Those Tennesseans who didn't know before now have ample evidence that their guard units are among the best in the world, ready to face any challenge here at home as they have abroad.

Various communities that are home to members of the unit plan celebrations in their honor. But let all Tennesseans be among those to welcome them back home and tell them how proud they have made their state.

Story Copyright to Tennessean.Com