Local soldiers leave family, friends, to prepare for Afghanistan deployment
Michigan Army National Guard soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment train for an upcoming deployment at Camp Grayling near Grayling, Mich. on Sept. 23, 201.
Jeff Sainlar | AnnArbor.com
Viking's War
AnnArbor.com is outfitting several Michigan National Guard soldiers with audio and video capabilities, enabling them to create dispatches to document for roughly one year what the longest war in history sounds, feels and looks like from the ground. Two soldiers'’ wives will share their experiences from home, too.
AnnArbor.com is calling the project Viking’s War.
It’s named for Michigan Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment. Its call sign is the “Viking Battalion.”
You can follow the reports on AnnArbor.com, as well as Facebook and Twitter
Read our past coverage here:The men are heading to Camp Shelby, Miss., to begin three months of training.
AnnArbor.com will be following the three soldiers and their families throughout the tour. They will be recording their experiences abroad and sending dispatches and photos to Ann Arbor. We are calling the project Viking’s War.
Two of the soldiers are with Saginaw-based Bravo Company, one of six companies in the battalion. Lt. Neil Gikas, 26, from Pittsfield Township, is leading a platoon within Bravo Company that includes Sgt. Drew Cummings, 25, of Milan.
We profiled the men and their families on Sept. 22.
Gikas on Friday will say goodbye to his new wife, Melissa, 24, and Cummings will leave behind his wife, Amy, and 4-year-old daughter, Ella. The women will be tracking their experiences, too, and sharing footage and thoughts on the departure this week.
Pittsfield Township resident Adam Betz, profiled by AnnArbor.com on 9/11, left for Camp Shelby ahead of the rest of the battalion Wednesday to prepare for its arrival.
Betz is a 1st lieutenant and second in command of the Flint-based Headquarters Company.
The Viking Battalion is one of six battalions in the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which includes 3,500 soldiers with units based in Ohio and Michigan. Over the next 18 months, 2,500 Michigan Air and Army Guardsmen and women will deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
National Guard solider Drew Cummings smiles at his 4-year-old daughter Ella as he starts to pack up their home to move to a new house. Cummings is heading to Camp Shelby, Miss., to begin three months of training.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
Below, read coverage on the mobilization from around the state:
- From the Saginaw News: Amid hugs, songs and a prayer, Saginaw-based soldiers prepare for Afghanistan deployment
In this article, Drew Cummings tells a reporter: "I went to Iraq in 2008 so I know what to expect. My family's a little more prepared this time, too. They'll know what to expect."
- Read more about the deployment from news outlets around the state.
This series is funded by George Polk grant affiliated with the George Polk Awards program at Long Island University.
Juliana Keeping covers general assignment and health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. Follow Viking's War on Facebook and Twitter
Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
mojo
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 11:09 a.m.
Hero's all of them. God Bless and God Speed.
walker101
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 3:32 a.m.
Get our troops out by the end of 2009 I have put forward a plan that will get our troops out by the end of 2009. We already saw today reports that the Iraqi minister suggests that we're going to be in there at least until 2018, a decade-long commitment. Currently, we are spending $9 to $10 billion a month. The notion is that we are going to sustain that at the same time as we're neglecting what we see happening in Afghanistan right now, where you have a luxury hotel in Kabul blown up by militants and the situation continues to worsen. Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas Jan 15, 2008 So much for his plan, just think you want him back for another 4 years, good luck. May all our troops come back, God Bless. 3/82ABN RVN 1969
Andrew Inwood
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 3:16 a.m.
I can't thank these men, and all the others who have served to keep us free. Thank you, and God Bless!
Tom Todd
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 1:38 a.m.
lets elect a Republican president so we can support another war.
asymptote
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 1:13 a.m.
Let's hope they come home safely. We need less wars so that we can ensure that this happens every time.
Elena
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 6:40 p.m.
Thank you to these soldiers and their families for their service. I look forward to learning more through the reports on the soldiers and families during their tour. Would you please also report on what citizens in our community are doing for the troops that we can support. Ms. Petoskey at the Washtenaw Courthouse comes to mind - at least four times a year she tirelessly coordinates the gathering of practical gifts to send the troops and then raises the funds to ship them out! I'm sure there are others...thanks.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 6:24 p.m.
Godspeed to the three HERO's Thank you for my freedom, and the freedom you will leave behind when you come home.
Enso
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 5:56 p.m.
Remind me again... why have we invaded 3 Muslim countries in the last 10 years?
Enso
Sat, Oct 1, 2011 : 5:23 p.m.
Thank you John. I forgot there for a second. I kept wanting to say 'they hate us for our freedom.' But I knew something about that wasn't right.
mojo
Fri, Sep 30, 2011 : 11:10 a.m.
Check out <a href="http://www.thereligionofpeace.com" rel='nofollow'>www.thereligionofpeace.com</a> to see why . . . .
Homeland Conspiracy
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 7:21 p.m.
It's part of The Project for the New American Century. PNAC, is a Washington-based think tank created in 1997. Above all else, PNAC desires and demands one thing: The establishment of a global American empire to bend the will of all nations. They chafe at the idea that the United States, the last remaining superpower, does not do more by way of economic and military force to bring the rest of the world under the umbrella of a new socio-economic Pax Americana. The fundamental essence of PNAC's ideology can be found in a White Paper produced in September of 2000 entitled "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century." In it, PNAC outlines what is required of America to create the global empire they envision. According to PNAC, America must: * Reposition permanently based forces to Southern Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East; * Modernize U.S. forces, including enhancing our fighter aircraft, submarine and surface fleet capabilities; * Develop and deploy a global missile defense system, and develop a strategic dominance of space; * Control the "International Commons" of cyberspace; * Increase defense spending to a minimum of 3.8 percent of gross domestic product, up from the 3 percent currently spent.
John A2
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 6:59 p.m.
For lithium ore and oil.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 6:22 p.m.
Enso really? Are you paying attention?
Stephen
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 : 6:10 p.m.
Or rather why have we liberated our fellow mankind from three oppressive regimes who torture and kill their own citizens? That's a better question to ask... or maybe it just the decent thing to do.