News-Sentinel March 31, 2004
Unknowns can be hardest part for families of 221st
Assignment for local soldiers still uncertain, but training continues
By Mary Lou Brinkand Megan Hubartt
They've been gone from home a little more than a month.
While 30 days flies by for most, it's already been a very long time for those family members of the 221st Ordnance Co. who were left behind in Fort Wayne. The ammunition company, with about 150 members from the area, has been at Fort McCoy, located in the west-central part of Wisconsin, since Feb. 29, training to take part in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Nancy Weis, Family Readiness Group leader for the 221st, said Tuesday she believes families still are in shock.
"It's been very difficult, but so far, so good," said Weis, whose husband, Wayne, is a member of the 221st.
She said those who have children are taking it the hardest. They're finding out how demanding it can be to be a single parent.
"The families are holding up very well," Weis said.
She said soldiers make frequent phone calls home and have access to the Internet to send e-mails.
Weis said her husband told her the troop's morale is high, with a three-day leave coming during Easter weekend. The 221st members aren't allowed to come home during leave. They must stay within 50 miles of Fort McCoy, but some families are going to visit them.
So far, the training has been excellent, Weis said.
"It's stuff they've never done before. They're learning about convoy security and how to identify explosive devices. It's all been well coordinated."
Being there
Staff writer Dan Cortez and photographer Aaron Suozzi were spending today with the 221st at Fort McCoy as part of the base's news media day.
The 221st, a company that sets up and manages ammunition storage and supply sites for other U.S. units, has not been called to active duty as a unit since World War II. While its destination remains a question, Weis believes the unit might head to Afghanistan.
"We and they haven't heard when yet," Weis said.
Chief Warrant Officer Rodney Bearman has had weekly contact with his wife, Amy, and their two children Ethan, 3, and Madison, 1.
"We're just staying busy," Amy Bearman said. "It's the best thing for everybody to do, to stay active."
She said her children, because they are so young, don't really understand what's going on. But she explains to her son "Daddy is working" and he is a soldier.
"(Ethan) has a picture of his dad on a button. He gives him a kiss every night at bedtime," Bearman said. "I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones, because (the children) don't know what's going on."
Bearman is looking forward to seeing her husband Easter weekend. They have a lot to catch up on. She said he tells her bits and pieces about training, but "he tells me what he can, but it's not much."
The company's orders state a service time of 18 months, which started when they left Fort Wayne, and its estimated time of return is August 2005.
"We're hoping it's shorter," Bearman said, adding the company will stay overseas for at least a year, so they're hoping the sooner they get to where they're going, the sooner they can return. "They want to get over there, get their work done and come home."
About Fort McCoy
Location: West-central Wisconsin, near La Crosse.
Type of base: A Total Force Training Center with a mission of preparing soldiers for deployment.
Size: The complex is on 60,000 acres, 46,000 of which are available for maneuver and training. More than 60,000 additional acres are available in neighboring counties through land-use agreements.
Employs: About 1,657 civilians, 1,002 military, 624 contracted.
Training population: 130,950 personnel were there in 2003.
Buildings: 1,161 barracks, administrative, dining and maintenance facilities.
History: Camp McCoy was founded in 1909 and served as a supply base for Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. During WWII it served as a POW and relocation camp. The "new camp" was inaugurated in 1942. It was designated as Fort McCoy in 1974. In 1980, it housed 15,000 Cuban refugees and was a mobilization site during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. In 1993, it realigned under the U.S. Army Reserve Command.
Named after: Robert Bruce McCoy, the son of a Civil War captain from the area.
- SOURCE: Fort McCoy home page at www.mccoy.army.mil and the Global Security Web site at www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fort-mccoy.htm
© Copyright 2004, News Sentinel and wire service sources
