After brief break, NMI reservists head back

Majority of Echo Company members who returned home for the holidays have flown back to the U.S. mainland to undergo more training before being deployed to Iraq.

In an interview Thursday, Company commander Franklin R. Babauta said that leaving after the holidays is a little bit different compared to when the troops first left in August 2004.

“This is a little bit different…it’s a more emotional parting,” he said. “When we go, we go to prepare our stuff, do a couple more training before we go to Kuwait and then to Iraq.”

The troops have one more phase of training in Fort Polk, Louisiana, before deployment to Iraq in February, where they will serve a maximum of 12 months.

“The troops are motivated, and all are looking forward to the next mission,” Babauta said. “When in Fort Bliss, we wanted to finish the mission and come back home.”

Babauta said his soldiers will have to put their “war face” on as their mission takes them to a place that makes headlines everyday.

“The place we’re going to is not guaranteed that it’s safe, so we cannot guarantee that no one is going to get hit or no one will get hurt,” he said.

Babauta affirmed that his men have bonded into a family, which would be positive for everyone while in Iraq. “The camaraderie among the group…they have developed a sense of trust, and know each other very well. It is very important to trust the guys to your left and right. That makes them confident to do their job.”

“We all care for each other, and I really care for everyone assigned to the unit….I’m responsible for these soldiers,” Babauta added. “I really put that in my heart that these soldier are all part of our family.”

Babauta stressed the importance of family members verifying and confirming any news about the troops in Iraq with a rear detachment officer, whom he has assigned to relay messages to the families.

“We want to protect our families here, too,” he said. “We don’t want any rumors of any incidents to be heard from someone else and the family would get hurt. If someone is injured, no one calls to inform the family; the RDO and other guys will inform them.”

Babauta said it is very important for families not to panic when hearing rumors. “I know that’s a hard thing to do but our team will gather information and send it out. They just need to verify from the RDO [and] not call the media because they won’t be the ones with the information.”