‘Road Warriors’ drive on with year-long mission in Afghanistan

Sgt. 1st Class Chad King addresses his platoon before heading to the departure ceremony. The 548th Transportation Company spent time with Family members at the John J. Hack Missouri National Guard Armory in Trenton on April 11 then proceeded to the Ketcham Community Center for their farewell as they prepare for a year-long mission in Afghanistan. (Photo by Jennifer Archdekin)

By Jennifer Archdekin
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

TRENTON, Mo. - There was no shortage of patriotism, long embraces or tearful goodbyes in Trenton on Monday as Family and friends said farewell to members of the 548th Transportation Company.

About 170 Missouri National Guardsmen filed into the Ketcham Community Center greeted with roaring cheers and thunderous applause. The unit left after their departure ceremony on April 11 for Fort Bliss, Texas to continue training for a few more weeks before deploying to Afghanistan for a year-long mission.

Among the well-wishers was Missouri Gov. Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, who shook the hands of each deploying Soldier before entering the ceremony.

"I want to see all of you back in the Show-Me State," said Nixon.

While addressing the troops, Nixon praised the company for their past performance in other theaters such as Kuwait, Iraq and Kosovo.

"No matter your mission, I know, and the people of our great state know, you are up to the task of this mission," said Nixon. "As part of the Missouri National Guard you are a key part of a highly trained, highly dedicated military force...that is second to none."

Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, was not short on his admiration of the unit either.

"This is the best trained unit in the United States Army," said Danner.

Danner also made a point to thank the Patriot Guard for the continual effort to escort troops when leaving and returning from deployments.

Prior to the ceremony, the Soldiers had lunch and spent time with their Family at the John J. Hack Missouri National Guard Armory. The last pieces of gear were loaded onto the buses and the troops assembled one last time. Capt. Doug Adams, company commander, instructed his troops a final time before heading to the ceremony.

"Let's get this mission done and get back home," said Adams, of Holts Summit.

As Family and friends held on to their Soldiers for a few more coveted moments, a common thread between the troops was not only an eagerness to complete their military mission, but the desire to carry it out safely and return home quickly.

"Our main mission is that everybody goes over and we have 100 percent coming back," said Staff Sgt. Doug Christmas, of Savannah. "Our main goal is to get everybody home safe and sound. We got a job to do. We're going to do that and then get back to our families."

This is the first deployment for Christmas. In addition to the support of his Family at home, Christmas said he will also lean on his fellow Guardsmen while overseas.

"It's just like a Family here," said Christmas. "Any time we're together and we do the training for this, it's like one big Family. Everybody pulls together and we get the job done. It's a pretty tight group."

Most of the Soldiers deploying have served together in this unit for years and have had about a year to prepare for the deployment. However, a handful came from other units and were selected specifically for this mission.

Sgt. 1st Class Chad King, a St. Joseph native who currently resides in Troy, Kan., was picked up by the unit with only two weeks to prepare for the year-long absence from his Family.

"They gave me 30 days notice, but I chose to waive the 30 days so I could pick up with them at Camp Clark."

Having little time to train with this new unit and establish bonds with his fellow Citizen-Soldiers, King admits he was a little nervous at first to deploy with them. That apprehension was quickly put to rest once he joined the unit.

"They're a great group of guys," said King. "They made me feel at home, so I can't ask for nothing better than that. They are a great company and they're going to go forth and do great things."

The outpouring of support from the Families and community was more than King expected.

"There's a lot of Family members here," said King. "I was kind of surprised to see that -- which is good for the Soldiers. It means they know they have a lot of support at home and that helps out."

During his six years of service, this is King's first deployment with the National Guard, though he did serve overseas while with the Marine Corps for eight years.

Earlier that day, Detachment 1, 548th Transportation Company, formerly of the now closed Centertown armory, was honored as well with a departure ceremony at the Ike Skelton Training Site in Jefferson City.

Since March 7 the Citizen-Soldiers were at Camp Clark in Nevada, Mo. conducting pre-deployment training. They are currently at Fort Bliss for their final stage of instruction and will leave for Afghanistan in May.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites:

www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard

Missouri Gov. Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon shakes the hand of every deploying Soldier with the 548th Transportation Company before their deployment ceremony. Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, also made his way through the ranks prior to their farewell on April 11 at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton. The unit will deploy to Afghanistan later in May. (Photo by Jennifer Archdekin)

Clinching his Family close, Sgt. Augustine Villegas says farewell as he prepares to leave for a year-long deployment to Afghanistan. The 548th Transportation Company from Trenton was honored April 11 at a farewell ceremony at the Ketcham Community Center. The unit is currently training at Fort Bliss, Texas and will leave the U.S. in May. (Photo by Jennifer Archdekin)