Watch a live video stream of the event at noon on EOUSports.com
LA GRANDE, Ore. -- For the second time in six years, the local community will bid farewell to citizen-soldiers bound for Iraq.
The Oregon National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry, a part of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat team, leaves Tuesday for a two-month training stint at Camp Shelby, Miss. Following training, it will deploy to the troubled Mideast nation.
The battalion will gather for the official mobilization ceremony at noon at Eastern Oregon University’s Community Stadium. The public is invited to attend.
“This is the final send-off,” said Capt. Chris Kerr, the 3/116th’s adjutant. “All 537 soldiers will be getting on those buses. They’re soldiers not just from here but all over the region.”
Gov. Ted Kulongoski will head a list of speakers. Others on the VIP list include Oregon National Guard Adjutant Gen. Raymond F. Rees, Assistant Adjutant Brig. Gen. Charles Yriarte and Col. Todd Plimpton of the Guard’s 82nd Brigade. La Grande Mayor Colleen Johnson will also be on hand.
The ceremony will include posting of colors and presentation of the command, singing of the national anthem, a presentation of the state flag and unit guidon and remarks by Kulongoski, Rees and Plimpton.
Following the ceremony, soldiers will have a chance to meet with family and community members before boarding the buses.
People unable to attend Tuesday’s ceremony don’t necessarily have to miss it, as Eastern plans live video streaming of the event. To view it, go to www.EOUSports.com and follow the streaming live video link.
At about 3 p.m, the buses carrying the soldiers will pass down Fourth Street and turn right on Adams Avenue, which will be decorated with yellow ribbons donated by Fitzgerald’s Flowers, and flags put up by the La Grande Fire Department.
The exit route takes the soldiers along Adams to Highway 30, then to the Interstate 84 on-ramp at the Flying J travel center. From there, the convoy heads for Gowen Field in Idaho.
Beginning at Community Stadium, the buses will be escorted by motorcylists from the Patriot Guard, American Legion Riders and the Union County Veterans Motorcycle Club.
Locally, the motorcycle escort is being organized by Lonnie Myers, a retired Marine officer who belongs to all three groups. Myers said he doesn’t know for sure how many riders will join in, but believes the number will be substantial.
“We’ve got people coming in from The Dalles and all along the I-84 corridor,” he said.
Myers said that near Ontario, Oregon riders will hand off the lead to escort riders from Idaho. The escort will accompany the buses all the way to Gowen Field.
The community is encouraged to turn out along the route for the final send-off, especially along Adams Avenue in La Grande.
The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, including elements from Idaho, Oregon and Montana, is headquartered at Gowen Field in Idaho.
The 3rd Battalion, with headquarters in La Grande, consists of units from Ontario, Baker City, La Grande, Pendleton, Hermiston, The Dalles and Hood River.
Third Battalion soldiers hail from cities and towns throughout the local area. Some from further away have transferred to the unit for the deployment.
In June 2004, the 116th BCT, including Third Battalion, left for training at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Polk, La., then deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit returned to the United States in November 2005.
In April of this year, the 116th was notified by the Department of Defense that it would deploy again to Iraq. This month, soldiers completed an intensive three-week pre-deployment training session at the Orchard Training Area near Gowen.
The 116th will be providing security for convoys in Iraq.
Story courtesy of the La Grande Observer