Published: January 08, 2008 11:06 pm         

Letters from the front: Valley soldier shares his thoughts on Army training

EDITOR’S NOTE: Last week, scores of Wabash Valley soldiers from the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team participated in a sendoff ceremony at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Now they are in Fort Stewart, Ga., training and preparing for deployment to Iraq.

Over the next year, the Tribune-Star periodically will run letters from some of the soldiers deployed as they serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The first letter is from Maj. Hal Johnston of Terre Haute, who e-mailed a letter on Friday.

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Hello from beautiful Fort Stewart … We are slowly getting our computer system up and running. I’ve only been here one day, but we really hit the ground running. The training is designed to replicate battlefield conditions, so now at all times I carry my M-4 carbine, Advanced Combat Helmet, Individual Body Armor, ballistic eyewear, and lots of water.

It’s about 50 pounds of gear, but I learned in Afghanistan that I will need every bit of it.

The Army is really working hard to prepare us for Iraq. We are restricted on post to a specific training area; no fast food, carry-out, personal automobiles or trips to the mall. We are focusing on warrior tasks: lots of weapons training, road marches and collective combat training. This is much different than how we were trained for Afghanistan, but then Iraq is a different country, a different enemy, a different war. We don't even have chairs in the chow hall; we eat standing up, wearing our full “battle rattle” and weapons.

The departure ceremony in Indianapolis was tough for all of us. Those of us who are veterans of previous deployments talk about how much harder it was to say goodbye this time. Morale is high, but I sure miss my wife, kids, and friends and family back in Terre Haute. Keeping busy helps, but I know that this is going to be the most difficult deployment of my 22-year military career. We are all chomping at the bit to get over there and get the mission accomplished.

By the way, as a student of military history, I found it interesting to note that the 3,500 Hoosier troops of the 76th Brigade are the largest concentration of Indiana soldiers since General Sherman conducted his famous “March to the Sea” from Atlanta to Savannah in 1864. Several Indiana infantry regiments fought in that campaign, which in the words of Sherman was designed to “make Georgia howl.” For the locals, the Civil War seems like a recent event. I have jokingly assured them that we Hoosier soldiers will be on our best behavior this time!

Major Hal Johnston

76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

United States Army