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Sixty-four members of South Boston's Company A National Guard, 429th
Battalion will join 108 members of Roanoke's Company E, 429th
Brigade
Support Battalion to enter federal service on May 11.
According to Lt. Col. Chester Carter, who serves as public affairs
officer for the Virginia National Guard, the group will consist
mainly
of mechanics and equipment haulers who will be engaged in moving
transportation issues in Iraq. The men will be called up to serve a
13 month period. They will remain in South Boston for the first
several days of their federal service before being transferred to
Camp Shelby, Mississippi where they are expected to undergo training
for some two months before being sent to
Iraq. "I hope that we can give them a real show of support and a big
send-off," said South Boston Mayor Carroll Thackston, who is the
retired head of the state's National Guard. "They will need all the
support we can give them." Thackston's remarks were echoed by
Carter, who said the call-up of the men, some of whom are students
while others are employed in various jobs, could be a real hardship
not only for their families, but also for their employers. "They are
going to need all the support we can
muster up for them," Carter said. Carter said he does not know where
in Iraq the men will be stationed, adding that they will be
transporting supplies wherever they are needed. Their specific
orders will come while they are at Camp Shelby, he said.