News Article
Photo Special to the Sun
State Rep. Eddie Yokley, D-11th, of Greene County, speaks Monday with members of a Newport-based unit of the Tennessee Army National Guard's 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment at a field training site at Camp Shelby. The citizen-soldiers, shown standing outside their HUMVEE, are in training for expected service in Iraq. Also taking part in training there are members of Greeneville-based Troop G of the 278th ACR.
By: By BILL JONES/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
08-18-2004
State Rep. Eddie Yokley, D-11th, of Greene County, and state Sen. Steve Southerland, R-1st, of Morristown, were part of a delegation that visited 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) National Guardsmen at Camp Shelby, Miss., on Sunday and Monday.
More than 60 citizen-soldiers from the 278th ACR’s Greeneville-based Troop G are in training at Camp Shelby, along with their counterparts from other 278th units across the state.
During briefings at Camp Shelby, Rep. Yokley said in an interview Tuesday, state legislators were shown maps of the area in Iraq where the 278th ACR is expected to be sent later this year.
They also were briefed by officers who had recently returned from Iraq about the situation in Iraq. Yokley said he was disappointed that he didn’t get to visit with all the soldiers who are members of the 278th ACR’s Greeneville and Newport units during a tour of field training sites on Monday.
But Yokley said the local citizen-soldiers he did meet were in good spirits and taking part in a "team effort" to prepare themselves for eventual service in Iraq.
"It was obvious that they enjoyed seeing people from their home towns," he said.
During a Tuesday afternoon interview, Yokley said that he, state Sen. Southerland and state Sen. John Litz, of Morristown, were part of a delegation that had been invited to tour Camp Shelby and receive briefings from military officials.
Group Of About 50
About 50 legislators and other state officials including: state Attorney General Paul Summers, state Homeland Security Director Gen. Jerry Humble and Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, Tennessee's Adjutant General, flew aboard a military aircraft to Camp Shelby, Miss., on Sunday afternoon.
Yokley said the C-130 aircraft picked up East Tennessee legislators at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base near Alcoa about 1 p.m. Sunday and flew to Nashville, where other state officials came aboard.
The airplane then flew to Hagler Army Airfield near Camp Shelby, and the delegation then was taken to Camp Shelby for a Sunday evening briefing.
On Monday morning, he said, the state officials received additional briefings from Col. Dennis Adams, commander of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and Col. Dan Zajac, commander of the training units at Camp Shelby.
On Monday morning, Yokley said, after another briefing, the Tennessee delegation was driven to various field training sites around Camp Shelby.
"They were scattered all over the place," Yokley said of the areas where 278th ACR soldiers were involved in training exercises.
At one point on Monday morning, Yokley said, he was invited to fire an 81 mm mortar from an armored personnel carrier on a training range.
"I was told that the scouts who were spotting for that mortar were from Greeneville, but I never got to meet them," he said. "I could see them in the distance."
Visited 'Iraqi Villages'
Rep. Yokley also said state officials were given a tour of “Iraqi villages” that have been built for training purposes at Camp Shelby and also met and spoke with some of the Iraqi citizens who are involved in efforts to make training realistic for 278th ACR soldiers.
"They (the Iraqis) do everything from staging street riots to acting as news reporters trying to interview the troops," he said.
Problems Discussed
Yokley said the state legislators also were told by military officials about problems that have been encountered by 278th ACR troops in training at Camp Shelby.
Because of the rapid increase in the numbers of troops being trained there, he said, some of Camp Shelby’s facilities have been inadequate in size.
"There is one small Post Exchange (PX) about the size of a convenience store to serve thousands of troops," he said. "They’re working to rectify that. And they’re also trying to install air conditioning units in the barracks."
Rep. Yokley said state legislators also were told that there have been telephone service problems as well.
Improvements are being made, he said, but may come too late to help the 278th ACR soldiers, who are expected to transfer in September to Fort Irwin, Calif., for additional training.
Despite the problems, Yokley said, the 278th ACR soldiers he met remained largely upbeat and wanted him to tell the many individuals and church groups who have sent items to them that those are much appreciated.
"They regret that they haven’t had enough time to write all the thank-you letters that they would like to write," he said.
The state delegation flew back to Tennessee on Monday afternoon, with the military aircraft that had taken them to Camp Shelby, landing first at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base about 5:30 p.m.
Story Copyright to Greene County Online