News From the Cause
It's 'decompression time' for Iowa soldiers at Fort McCoy (DES MOINES REGISTER)
July 13, 2011
Fort McCoy, Wis. - They call it Mobilization Alley, a place where the first wave of about 250 Iowa National Guard troops fresh from Afghanistan has been housed for the past week in old, World War II-era barracks without air conditioning.
They can't drink alcoholic beverages here, nor do they get passes to leave the post. But no one is complaining. There's only one place these soldiers would rather be, and this is the last stop before they get there.
"I'm not home yet, but it feels good to be here. It's a relief," said Spc. Zach Hanood, 22, of Reinbeck, a mortarman for the past eight months at Command Outpost Najil, a small remote base in the mountains of Laghman province.
Returning soldiers come here to prepare for re-entry to civilian life and to decompress before going home to friends and families. It's a place to try to shake off the Afghan dust and - for some of them - harrowing memories of Taliban bullets, rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs.
Sgt. Ryan Pierce, 25, of Cedar Rapids, who worked on computer networks at Bagram Airfield, was grateful to see Maj. Gen. Tim Orr, the National Guard's top officer, waiting to shake his hand at an airfield near here on Friday. He also welcomed the lush, green terrain of a Midwest summer.
"It was a breath of fresh air. Grass, trees and smiling faces," Pierce said.
The Iowans are among 2,800 members of the National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team who are ending their Afghan tour with about a week at Fort McCoy, which was the U.S. Army's most active mobilization training center last year. More will be arriving in coming weeks.
During their free time, the Iowans wearing the Red Bull patches of the 34th Infantry Division on their fatigues can play touch football, visit the post exchange and just relax with their friends.
"This is decompression time," said Linda Fournier, a Fort McCoy spokeswoman. "I have heard commanders say, 'I would love to keep them here a month.' "
Sgt. Justin Schmitt, 24, of Plainfield, who was a scout in Afghanistan, is among those who can use a break. In May, he was part of a group of Iowa troops and Afghan soldiers who killed an estimated 270 enemy fighters in an intense battle lasting seven hours in Do Ab, a village in northern Nuristan province. The coalition forces survived without any casualties, but they came under a hail of fire from Taliban riflemen, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
Schmidt said he's not sure if he will experience post-traumatic stress syndrome, a common ailment among soldiers who have experienced combat. But he adds, "Right now everybody is still on edge. They are still alert and jumpy when there is a little noise or a bang."
Unlike some past deployments, every soldier here meets individually with a mental health counselor to screen for PTSD and other mental health issues Click here to view more
