Press & Sun-Bulletin December 28, 2004
THE YEAR AHEAD; MILITARY - Service members to see changes in 2005; More movement between bases expected
By Justin Walden
Marilyn and Robert Neuland plan to travel to Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota some time in 2005.
Though they haven't made specific travel plans, the Neulands of Norwich want to visit their son, Airman 1st Class Kyle Neuland.
"We're very proud of him," Marilyn Neuland said. "He's very happy with (his service) and he's in good hands."
Kyle Neuland flew home Saturday. He will spend the remaining days of 2004 with his family.
The coming year could bring a repeat of 2004 for military families in Greater Binghamton: preparing for way-too-brief reunions, and waiting for word that that their loved one is safe.
For local service members, the coming year will also require them to undergo additional training, as the U.S. military strives to become a more efficient fighting force.
"I hope they'll be able to do their jobs and do them well," Vestal resident Chris Parker said of his sons Sam and Joel, who are in the Navy.
Chris and his wife, Teresa, talk to their sons several times per week. They bought a cellular phone for Sam so he can keep in better contact with the family.
Sam, 18, will spend 2005 training for nuclear engineering work. Joel, 20, will spend the coming year working in Naval intelligence.
"I'd have to say with some bias that I am happy to see good young men like my sons enter" the service, Chris Parker said. "It's a sacrifice."
The service personnel will also experience changes to their everyday living situations. For instance, the Army will issue redesigned combat uniforms to troops deploying in April. And the Department of Defense is increasing housing allowances in 2005.
The coming year will also mean additional overseas deployments and movements between bases in the United States.
Kyle Neuland said he'll likely be shipped to a different air base in the summer, when Grand Forks undergoes renovations. Later in the year, he'll likely get deployed overseas.
Neuland hopes to be assigned to a base in England, where a friend is serving, but Neuland realizes he could be assigned to any number of places.
"I joined the military to see the world," Neuland said. "I can go anywhere."
Some soldiers, sailors and airmen will spend most, if not all, of the year in Afghanistan and Iraq.
One of the largest military bases in New York, Fort Drum, is about 160 miles north of Binghamton. One of the base's primary tenants, the Army's 10th Mountain Division, will send brigade combat teams to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005 and 2006.
The Division's 1st Infantry Brigade Combat team is going to Iraq in the fall, said Sgt. Cain Claxton, a public affairs specialist for the division.
Meanwhile, another brigade is training at Fort Polk, La., for deployment to Afghanistan in the spring of 2006, Claxton said.
Brigades typically consist of several thousand soldiers.
The 10th Mountain Division, like the 204th Engineer Battalion in Binghamton, could have soldiers returning home in the summer.
The 204th has also sent soldiers to Afghanistan and Iraq in recent years.
For now, there are no new specific orders for deployment, said Lt. Robert Miron, adjutant for the 204th Engineer Battalion in Binghamton.
"We have soldiers ready, who are still training on the home front," Miron said. "We have troops ready to go."
ON THE INTERNET
To learn more about the United States military, visit the Department of Defense's main Web site, www.dod.gov. The site has links to sites for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Also, www.globalsecurity.org has an array of information. The site has recent military-related news stories, plus articles that explain the basic structure of the military.
WHAT'S NEXT?
* The Binghamton-based 204th Engineer Battalion has no specific orders for deployment in 2005.
* The 10th Mountain Division, based near Watertown, will send troops to Iraq in 2005, with other troops preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan in spring 2006. Other soldiers may return home this summer as their overseas duty ends.
* In general, U.S. soldiers can expect to receive additional training, larger housing allowances and new uniforms in 2005.
SOURCE: Press & Sun-Bulletin research
Copyright © 2004 Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY)
