News Article

By: BILL JONES/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
12-30-2004

Local Army Reservists have arrived in Kuwait and are doing well, the commanding officer of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 844th Engineer Battalion wrote in an electronic mail message received Wednesday by The Greeneville Sun.

“Everyone is doing well,” Lt. Col. Donato “Don” Dinello wrote in his Wednesday message to the Sun.

“C Company [the 844th’s Greeneville-based unit] is currently up north at Camp Virginia (Kuwait). They are awaiting their equipment, which will arrive within days, and then [will] start to work supporting the theater.”

The battalion commander wrote in response to an electronic mail message sent to him this week by a Greeneville Sun reporter. The address had been provided by a U.S. Army Reserve public affairs officer.

“Camp Virginia is in the northwest of Kuwait and is a staging area for transiting to Iraq,” Lt. Col. Dinello wrote.

“The 844th arrived on Dec. 18. C Company is responsible for sustaining the lines of communications (LOC), which is our term for maintaining the roads, airfields and ports and building the infrastructure (needed) to sustain the army in the field.”

On Wednesday, Lt. Col. Dinello also forwarded to a Sun reporter a copy of an electronic-mail newsletter that was sent to the families of 844th Engineer Battalion soldiers on Dec. 7 while the unit was still in training at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

The newsletter included a request that family members not tell anyone when the unit was leaving Camp Atterbury.

“Let me remind everyone, [that] this is privileged information,” the newsletter stated. “Don’t discuss it with anyone. Our safety depends on it. We will call when we reach our final destination and let you know we arrived safely.”

Additional Training

The newsletter also indicated that, in addition to completing in only 28 days the “validation” process that military units must complete before departing for duty in Iraq, the 844th soldiers had received a variety of additional training.

“We have done demolition training, additional convoy training, rappelling, and Quick Reaction Force (QRF) training,” the commanding officer wrote in the newsletter.

Also in the newsletter, Lt. Col. Dinello wrote that he understood that all units deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III can expect to stay in-theater for one year, or “365 Boots On the Ground (BOG).”

He noted that the unit was mobilized under 545-day orders.

“I expect we’ll be deployed for one year and a few months,” Lt. Col. Dinello wrote. “Please understand that this could change, based on mission needs.”

He noted that the official “clock” starts when the main body of the unit arrives in the theater (Kuwait/Iraq).

“Once our time is up, we can expect to redeploy back through [Camp Atterbury] to demobilize,” he wrote.

“That should take no longer than about two weeks. After that, everyone will take annual leave at their home of record.

“If you do the math, that adds up to one or two months at the mobilization station, 12 months in-country, one month of leave, and a week or two to de-mobilize. Yes, that adds up to something less than 18 months. The 18-month orders are ‘just in case’ we are needed just a little longer . . . .”

Expected Living Conditions

The battalion commander also wrote in the newsletter that living conditions “in-theater” were expected to be austere, but comfortable.

“For now, what we do know is we can expect to live in a ‘carnival tent,’ or ‘open-bay’ barracks at least initially, and ‘Force Provider’-type tents later on,” the commander wrote.

“The open-bay barracks should be fully heated/air conditioned and have bunks with mattresses. The Force Provider tents are supposed to be excellent (no kidding) … wood floors, fully heated/air conditioned with beds to sleep on.

“In both cases, shower/bathroom facilities are a short walk away,” the battalion commander wrote.

“Though this sounds rather austere, these are the best sleeping conditions in-theater (or so I’m told.).”

Holiday Message

In a holiday message to the families of 844th soldiers, Lt. Col. Dinello wrote of the importance of the season and urged support for the deployed soldiers.

“As we enter a fourth holiday season with our nation at war, we need to remember the importance of this special time of year,” he wrote. “Although we are gone this [holiday] season, we are still with you all in our hearts.”

The battalion commander also noted that many soldiers were spending the holiday season away from home, serving their country in a dangerous place.

“This year, as in wars past, soldiers and their families are separated during the holiday season,” he wrote. “Soldiers understand sacrifice, but their families — especially children — may wonder why Dad or Mom has to be away.

“Those of us on point for the nation do it willingly knowing the sacrifice, so that many families may celebrate this time with their loved ones as we stand watch while they sleep. We return the favor of the many that have gone before us and sacrificed for us while we were home.”

Traditions Important

Lt. Col. Dinello noted in his holiday message that holiday traditions are important to many because of their connection to warm and happy memories of childhood and of family.

“They [holiday traditions] often mean gathering and visiting with family and friends, celebrating the values we cherish,” he wrote. “They also give us joy today and the hope of promise for tomorrow.

“Our 844th family will celebrate in some faraway place, but we will celebrate together. We will only know too well upon reflection of happier times that the sacrifice we make is worth the price.”

The 844th, the battalion commander wrote, is joining a long line of soldiers (in) defending the nation and its people’s way of life.

“Soldiers throughout our history have served valiantly and nobly during the holiday season,” he said. Lt. Col. Dinello cited as examples of past holiday service General George Washington’s Christmas attack on Trenton during the Revolutionary War, the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, and “today’s heroes defending liberty in Baghdad.”

“We must never forget them [American soldiers], or their sacrifices,” Lt. Col. Dinello wrote.

Story Copyright to Greene County Online