2009/02/17:Wisconsin bids farewell to 32nd IBCT Guardsmen - Wisconsin Bring the Guard Home Campaign

Wisconsin bids farewell to 32nd IBCT Guardsmen

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin said goodbye Tuesday to hundreds of part-time soldiers bound for Iraq in the largest deployment of Wisconsin National Guard forces since World War II.

About 3,200 or so members of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and six other Army National Guard units marched onto the floor of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum for a send-off ceremony, creating a sea of camouflage and buzz cuts. About 5,000 family and friends looked on from the stands, holding signs, whooping and calling out their loved ones’ names.

Lawmakers from around the state, including Gov. Jim Doyle and U.S. Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, and military commanders thanked the troops and their families for their courage and sacrifice.

“I appreciate what you do, each and every family,” said Col. Steven J. Bensend, the brigade’s commander. “We have a long year ahead of us. I pledge to you ... I will do everything in my power to bring you back.”

The Wisconsin National Guard announced in September that 3,500 soldiers from the 32nd and the other units will head to Iraq for a 10-month tour. That number shrunk to 3,200 as commanders reassessed personnel needs, said Maj. Jackie Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard.

Mercedez Jimenez, 14, brought a sign reading “Hurry Home Grampa Flores I’ll Miss You” to see off her grandfather, Juan Flores, 54 of Madison. He also served in Desert Storm and Kuwait.

Flores’ wife, Amy, 51 of Madison, said she’ll try to stay in touch with him through a new Web camera and lean on family during Sunday dinners. She said this deployment is a little easier now that fighting in Iraq seems to have faded.

“I think it’s historic,” she said. “They may be the last group there.”

The brigade is descended from the 32nd “Red Arrow” Division, an infantry outfit of Wisconsin and Michigan guardsmen who fought in World War I. Today, it includes units from 36 Wisconsin communities and several dozen soldiers from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan.

Many in the brigade already have served in Iraq.

Kathy Mattison, 46, of Madison, said her husband, 41-year-old Charles Mattison, will be making his second trip to Iraq. They had a nice Valentine’s Day dinner, she said, and “this morning, he actually said I made him better than he was. I will remember that.”

Karla Lemak, 38, of Monroe, watched from the coliseum’s top rows with her 5-year-old daughter, Kenedy. She said her husband, 43-year-old Lucian Lemak, was making his second visit to Iraq as well.

“My 5-year-old doesn’t really understand why Daddy has to go away,” she said. “I try not to be scared.”

A contingent from the University of Wisconsin-Madison marching band lightened the mood a bit, marching into the coliseum playing “On Wisconsin.” They followed that up with “The Chicken Dance” and “You’ve Said It All,” a rendition of a beer jingle that replaces the word “Budweiser” with “Wisconsin.”

Soldiers were allowed to rejoin their families afterward. Outside the coliseum, 19-year-old Amanda Guenterberg, a radio repair specialist from Slinger, huddled with her mother against the February chill. She graduated from high school last year and will be making her first trip to Iraq.

“I’m a little nervous,” she said. “I hope I have a good experience. I hope to have a lot of fun.”

James Gill, a 21-year-old infantryman from Marinette, said he’ll have to leave behind his 17-month-old daughter, Katharina. But he knew what he was getting into when he joined the Guard two years ago, he said.

“It’ll be rough, but I got to do what I got to do,” he said. “I signed up for it.”

Groups of 400 to 600 soldiers will start reporting to Fort Bliss in Texas over the next 10 days to finish training before heading overseas.

Bring the Guard Home — It’s the Law, a national campaign to bring National Guard forces back to the United States, issued a statement Tuesday questioning whether the 32nd’s deployment is legal. The campaign maintains further engagement in Iraq exceeds the original congressional authorization to invade, which was based on eliminating weapons of mass destruction and United Nations resolution violations.

State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said he’s drafting legislation that would allow Wisconsin’s governor to review federal Guard call-ups and challenge them in federal court if they appear unlawful.

Doyle is a Democrat. His spokesman, Lee Sensenbrenner, had no immediate comment.