Times Herald (Port Huron, MI) March 25, 2003
Port Huron's citizen soldiers don't expect to join the fight
By Bill Shea, Staff
Port Huron's contingent of Michigan Army National Guardsmen is watching events unfold in Iraq with a mix of amazement and pride.
They're not, however, worried about going to war.
"I don't have any anxiety about (being called to active duty)," said Sgt. Ralph Mayhew, 44, of Capac. He's been in the Army and the National Guard for two decades and will retire this year.
"If we're called, we're called."
It's unlikely the men of Battery A, 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery, would be called to federal service for deployment to Iraq, but the local soldiers again could find themselves on duty to protect the state's vital interests.
"This unit is not on alert," said Sgt. Brian Vaillancourt, who runs the day-to-day operations of the Port Huron Armory on Dove Street, out of which the battery musters.
Vaillancourt, 36, of Harrison Township has been running the armory for more than two years. He's confident Battery A can handle any mission it's asked to do: "When we're called up, we will perform our duty."
The armory has 60 men who maintain and fire six M-109 self-propelled artillery pieces. The 155-mm guns - which are basically howitzers mounted on an armored tracked chassis - are stored at Camp Grayling in northern Michigan.
The gun crews were stationed for a time on the Blue Water Bridge to assist U.S. Customs immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks. That mission ended in July.
Tom Moutoux, who retired Feb. 1 after 20 years from the regular Army and the National Guard in Port Huron, said he's been watching the war news and feels a tinge of longing to be there. "You can't help but feel excited," said Moutoux, 41, of Port Huron. "If they ever called me up, I'd be there in a second."
Battery A's primary combat duty is fire support for ground troops. Each shell fired by the M-109 weighs 98 pounds.
The 55,000-pound guns are Cold War-era versions of the self-propelled guns being used in Iraq. The ground war opened Thursday with U.S. Army and Marine Corps artillery shelling Iraqi positions north of the Kuwaiti border.
The Army uses the Paladin system, an improved version of the guns used by Battery A - which makes it very unlikely the Michigan troops would be deployed in that role, Pentagon officials said Monday.
Army spokesman Maj. Chris Conway said the type of guns used by Port Huron's battery were used in the 1991 Gulf war, but today the Army relies mainly on the Paladin system.
"(The M-109) played a historic role in the past," he said.
The battery is slated to trade in its self-propelled guns for towed artillery sometime after 2008 as part of a National Guard restructuring plan.
Besides the Port Huron troops, the 1st Battalion is made up of Battery B in Alma and Battery C in Charlotte and Albion.
No Michigan Army National Guard troops are deployed overseas, but several units are on duty at air bases in the state.
A CLOSER LOOK
BATTERY A
WHO: Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery, 46th Infantry Brigade, 38th Infantry Division.
WHAT: Battery A is an Army National Guard artillery formation of about 60 men who operate six self-propelled 155-mm howitzers. The guns are stored at Camp Grayling.
WHERE: Alpha Battery is stationed at the Port Huron Armory on Dove Street. Troops from Battery A also are out of Lansing.
WHEN: The battery can trace its roots to the early 19th century, when it was an infantry formation.
WHY: Self-propelled artillery is a vital element of the Army's approach to fighting, which is based on speed and mobility. The guns are used to soften up enemy positions prior to an attack or to repel enemy attacks. The battery's troops also are deployed on other missions, such as security at the Blue Water Bridge after Sept. 11.
ONLINE
BATTERY A
www.geocities.com/abattery119fa
www.michguard.com
www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-119fa.htm
www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m109-intro.htm
GRAPHIC: ON GUARD: Troops from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery, performed the temporary mission of searching trucks crossing the Blue Water Bridge after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their normal role is maintaining and firing artillery. BIG GUN: The regular weapon of the National Guard troops mustering out of the Port Huron Armory is the M-109 self-propelled howitzer. Times Herald
Copyright © 2003, Times Herald (Port Huron, MI)
