Close-knit community prepares for deployment                                                         Story by Spc. Elizabeth Gorenc, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs                             Posted: September 26, 2008

CAMP ATTERBURY - Brazil, a small Indiana community, prepares for its family members and citizens to support the Global War on Terrorism effort overseas. The community readies for the deployment of its Soldiers as they train at Camp Atterbury.

Indiana National Guard 1st Sgt. Neal Stough, the 138th Quartermaster Company’s top enlisted Soldier, said the unit has received a lot of support from the town and surrounding areas during its pre-deployment training. Stough said the community was determined to show their support in every way imaginable. From the fire department to the police department to the mayor and American Legion, the response was one of steadfast support.

“We are a family-oriented company from a family-oriented community,” he said. Stough attributes the support to the fact that the majority of the town has either served in the military or has a family member serving in the military.

“My father was a first platoon sergeant of the company that I am now in,” said Stough. “There are also others in the unit whose fathers were here before them.”

The military tradition and history of the people within the community that form the National Guard unit creates a comradery that extends past training weekends.

Indiana National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Paul Wetnight, the second platoon sergeant for the 138th, said living in a close-knit community creates an environment for people to go through years of experience and grow together.

“We have a comradery and rapport that is outstanding,” said Wetnight. “Not only are we Soldiers together, we work and live together as civilians.”

Wetnight credits the strong bond of the unit and excellent team work to the success in pre-mobilization training and preparation.

“There are a lot of changes and updates to the training since I was last deployed during Desert Storm,” he said. “While I can use some previous deployment experience to prepare for this one, I feel not only more comfortable on this deployment because of the new technology, but also because of the ability and reliability of my comrades in the unit.”

While here at Camp Atterbury, the 138th trains together every day to perfect their deployment skills. They have been conducting basic Soldier training such as land navigation and tactical movements in addition to making sure the Soldiers’ files are in order.

Sgt. Kimberly Calkins, the unit public affairs representative, said the unit was in the “crawl” stage of training.

“We arrived at Camp Atterbury on September 6th. Right now we are creating a base and correcting any logistical or administrative issues individual Soldiers might have,” she said.

To help create the skill base, Soldiers have participated in land navigation, combat training, combat live saver courses and military operations on urban terrain training.

“We are trying to get everything squared away. That way when we come back to Camp Atterbury in November to complete our pre-mobilization training, we don’t have any distractions,” said Calkins.

Throughout the pre-mobilization training, Calkins said the overall troop morale has been high.

“We are excited not only to serve our country,” she said, “but to also make a difference.”

While serving their country, members of the quartermaster unit will be receiving, storing, issuing and possibly transporting supplies to support other units deployed to Iraq.

Calkins said, “Even though we are mainly supporting other units, I know that we are making a difference because when we get there, that means someone gets to come home.”