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National Guard celebrates 369th birthday in Kosovo

By Staff Sgt. R. D. Kyle
December 21, 2005

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – Task Force Falcon Soldiers took a moment to recognize the 369th birthday of the National Guard with a traditional cake cutting ceremony, Dec. 13.

The U.S. Kosovo Forces is run primarily by Army and Air National Guard troops from 26 states. Eighty-one National Guard units have members serving in the province where more than more than 1300 citizen-Soldiers are assigned.

The 24/7 demands of deployment have been an opportunity for National Guardsmen to showcase their abilities.

“The National Guard has more than stepped up to the plate,” said Col. Jacob VanGoor, chief of staff, Headquarters, Task Force Falcon. “We are doing every mission the active component is doing around the world today. Our units are going through the same validation training and then being deployed. Very often, these units are being formed by the states from multiple units; the first time these Soldiers work together or even see each other is at the mobilization station.

“In the majority of cases, the leadership pulled these Soldiers together to create a cohesive team and deploy them for a successful rotation,” he said.

“Both [Reserve and Active] components are held to the same standards,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Krista Griffith, Headquarters, Task Force Falcon. “With the diverse civilian backgrounds of citizen-Soldiers, we’re better suited for some missions than the active component.”

The peacekeeping mission in the Balkans is run mostly by National Guardsmen from California. The KFOR 6B rotation is the first to have spent 12 months in the area, verses the six month tours of the previous rotations. The mission has also become very well suited for the citizen-Soldiers.

“What is unique about the National Guard and the Army Reserve is that we bring so much more to the table,” said Van Goor. “Most of us have civilian jobs and experiences that run across the spectrum of the American economy. We have lawyers, policemen, school teachers, engineers, CEOs, and so on that contribute significantly to today’s type of conflict, where we are molding a society to become a democratic one. That is especially true in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan where we are trying to provide for a safe and secure environment.”

(Editor’s note; Staff Sgt. R. David Kyle serves with the 135th MPAD.)