DENVER—To the sounds of bagpipes, a military marching band and a cheering crowd at Denver’s Pepsi Center, more than 400 members of the Colorado National Guard got a rousing send-off to Iraq on Friday in what is the largest Colorado Guard deployment since World War II.
Troops with the Colorado Springs-based 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery marched and rushed onto a lacrosse pitch inside the center one day before their deployment. They bade farewell to family and loved ones and received a salute from Gov. Bill Ritter.
Most of the yearlong tour will be infantry-based, said unit commander Lt. Col. Al Morris of Centennial, who is serving his second tour in Iraq. Troops will conduct mounted and foot patrols and guard important visitors, Morris said.
The unit’s send-off came as nearly 1,000 members of Wyoming’s National Guard head to Iraq and Kuwait in what is the largest single-unit deployment in that state’s history.
The Colorado unit deployed to Germany during World War II and helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp. Members also served in New York after the 9/11 attacks and in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Many soldiers said they weren’t surprised to be heading to Iraq, even after President Barack Obama announced a withdrawal plan.
“I feel great,” said Lt. Christopher Miskimon, 39. “If I have to go overseas and if I have to leave my family, these are the people I want to go with.”
Miskimon served in the Army and became an Arvada police officer. He volunteered for the Guard after 9/11 because, he said, “I thought I could do some good.”
Except for a dozen or so soldiers, it’s the first overseas tour for the troops. Some expect it won’t be their last, especially after Obama announced plans to ramp up forces in Afghanistan.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said 31-year-old Sgt. Clifford Julian of Englewood. “We are the biggest National Guard unit in Colorado.”
“When you find out you’re actually going it’s like a movie, moving in slow motion,” he added.
Julian said he’s eager to ship out so he can hurry back home to his wife and 2-year-old son, Joseph.
“I put on the uniform and he cries a little. … He knows something’s coming,” Julian said. And he’s made preparations: “I’ve tape recorded every single book” Joseph likes, including the boy’s favorite, “Clifford the Big Red Dog.”
John A. Van Arsdale, 43, of Greeley came to see off his son, 23-year-old Landon Diebert, whose father and grandfather served in the military.
Van Arsdale said he’s proud of his son, though he noted, “I would have advised against it.
“But the economy where he grew up in North Dakota was pretty dismal, and it seemed like a good opportunity,” he said of Diebert’s military service.
Ritter assured the troops they would carry the thoughts and prayers of Coloradans.
“We will incessantly pray for you. … And while you’re away, we’ll do the best we can to take care of your families,” Ritter declared. “Godspeed.”
