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42nd Infantry Division advance party deploys

By Staff Sgt Raymond Drumsta
November 10, 2004

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Army News Service, Nov. 10, 2004) -- The vanguard of the New York National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division and Task Force Liberty has departed for Operation Iraqi Freedom-3.

More than 500 Soldiers of the Rainbow Division's advance party left at the end of October after training at Fort Drum and Fort Dix, N.J. They headed for staging areas in Kuwait, in order to smooth the way for Task Force Liberty, according to Brig. Gen. Tom Sullivan, 42nd Infantry Division assistant division commander for support and command and control for the advance party.

Among other things, the advance party will draw equipment, secure dining facilities, secure billeting and provide information for the main party, Sullivan said.

Task Force Liberty Soldiers will deploy throughout the remainder of the year and early 2005.

"I think the advance party smoothes the way by taking the unknowns out of the deployment," Sullivan said. "In other words, we'll be over in Kuwait before the units. We'll be able to call back to the unit commanders and tell them what to expect."

"The purpose of the advance party is to get everything prepared to receive units," said Lt. Col. Mark Moser, deputy chief of plans, G3 Section. "In this case, the advance party is setting up RSOI in Kuwait."

RSOI stands for Reception, Staging and Onward Integration - the process by which equipment and personnel are broken out and prepared for movement into Iraq.

"The advance party represents a little bit of everybody, but a big chunk of [Division Artillery]," Moser said. "They run the RSOI."

Other section representatives will ensure section-specific needs are being met, Moser said.

"If problems come up, they coordinate with the rear elements to solve them."

One of these problem solvers is advance party member Spc. Pete Baesemann, motor sergeant for the 173rd Long Range Surveillance Detachment . He said his job is to ready his unit's vehicles "so LRSD can use them effectively."

"I expect to be very busy," Baesemann said. "I'm going to get our vehicles off the boat, maintain them, acquire the up-armored Humvees, and basically get all our ducks in a row for the rest of my unit."

That involves the infantry mentality - a commitment to "check, double check, and triple check everything," Baesemann said.

"If you don't do that with everything, something won't be there when you need it," he said.

Thanks to the advance party, task force Soldiers also will fall in on training. Divisional units deploying to Kuwait will undergo 14 days of intense training, to include M2, 240 Bravo, M16, and M4 ranges, said Master Sgt. Christopher Parker, operations sergeant of the G3 Training Section.

Parker said preparing this training for the main body involves many people and lots of coordination, a job he describes as "difficult but doable."

"It's kind of hard preparing for something until you've seen it," he said.

In addition to tracking vehicles and helping with barracks and equipment, advance party member Sgt. April Haradji, 42nd Military Police Company, said preparing her family for her deployment - especially her eight-year old son - is also part of her job.

"My son is getting older," Haradji said. "My son knows what time means. He understands months and years. He knows it's 2004, and that I won't be back until 2006. He knows that's a long time."

Haradji deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2003. She bought a globe for her son, and ran a string on it from her home state of New Hampshire to Afghanistan to show him where she was located. For this deployment, she taught him to use e-mail - and moved the string.

"We just had to switch it to Iraq," she said.

Haradji said she doesn't find it difficult to leave before everyone else.

"I want to be on the advance party. I already said goodbye to my family. I don't want to go through that again. My family is supportive. My mom knows that I want to do this, and that I'll be taken care of," she said.

Baesemann also said his family supported him.

"They told me they loved me, and to go over, get the job done so I can come home."

Spc. Craig Jasco, assigned to the division tactical command post, said his family and friends sent him off with many going-away parties, reading material and a St. Michael medallion.

"They told me to be safe and keep my eyes open," Jasco said, "and to stay alert." He said he wants to stay focused and physically fit so he can perform his duties.

"I've had my mind set on leaving," Jasco said. "I am prepared."

"I feel that we have all the equipment and all the training we need," Sullivan said. "I believe we are going to be very successful."

(Editor's note: Staff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta serves with the 42nd Infantry Division.)