950 Wyoming troops slated for Kuwait

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Written by Andrea Halbach

Wednesday, 26 November 2008 10:03

Fifty-two percent of the Wyoming Army National Guard will be sent to Kuwait in April 2009. This is the largest deployment in Wyoming history, a brigade commander said.

Col. Richard Knowlton, one of 14 soldiers who traveled to Laramie on Friday, has been in the Wyoming Army National Guard for 20 years and will travel with Wyoming men and women in April. Knowlton said 2,400 troops are being sent from five states; 950 of these troops are from Wyoming.

Knowlton said the soldiers will first travel to Ft. Hood, Texas for three months of collective training. On April 15, the soldiers will travel to Kuwait where they will stay for approximately one year before returning home. The soldiers will help protect their base and vehicles as they travel from Kuwait to Iraq and back.

When the soldiers return in April 2010 they will again stay at Ft. Hood for five to 10 days of out-processing before returning home.

Seventy-five of the soldiers from Wyoming are from Albany County and many are at the University of Wyoming, Public Affairs Representative Major Samuel E. House said.

These soldiers need support from their friends and family, House said. House, who has been in the Army National Guard for 20 years, will not travel with the troops because he just returned home.

Information about supporting the soldiers was given in a meeting between soldiers and Laramie spiritual leaders. Marriage concerns were cited; one soldier said that the first month of being separated from family is the worst and that another difficult time is about three months after the soldier arrives home; tensions are high at these points and many marriages and families suffer.

The group also spoke about a soldier’s need for affirmation and validation. Many soldiers experience difficulty when trying to forgive themselves for killing in the line of duty.

The soldiers at the meeting reiterated the need to support their soldiers and to remind them it is okay to kill in a time of war, Knowlton said.

Knowlton and House both requested encouragement and support for the men and women who will travel to Kuwait.

Farewell ceremonies will be announced soon.

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