Jan 6, 2006
Randall Beach and Robert Varley, Register Staff
The young Connecticut National Guard troops leaving their home state Saturday for a tour of duty in Afghanistan are curious, excited and perhaps a bit nervous, but above all ready to serve.
"It'll be a life-changing experience for sure," said Darren Foster, 24, who is balancing his studies as a sophomore at Southern Connecticut State University with being a private first class in the 1st Battalion of the 102nd Infantry.
Foster was interviewed as he gathered with other Guardsmen Thursday morning at the Branford Armory. He is one of 17 SCSU students going to Afghanistan in this deployment. After training in Fort Bragg, N.C., they are expected to arrive in Afghanistan in April for a full year of active duty.
According to Jack Mordente, SCSU's director of veterans' affairs, this is the largest number of SCSU students deployed simultaneously with one unit during the several decades he has had that job. In recent years, Guardsmen and college students have carried an increasingly large role in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The SCSU student-warriors were among about 500 soldiers from the 102nd Infantry at Yale University's Payne Whitney Gymnasium Thursday night for send-off ceremonies. At least 3,000 people, including military officers and state dignitaries, turned out to say goodbye and thank the soldiers.
U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2, a retired Army colonel and Vietnam veteran, called out the other veterans in the audience. "Let's hear it, everyone, for the 1st Battalion," he said, eliciting applause, cheers and flag waving.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who spoke of her own relatives serving overseas in the military, said she liked homecomings a lot better than the send-offs.
"More than anything else, thank you for your selfless service," she said to the camouflage-clad soldiers standing at attention.
U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, acknowledged the anxiety the soldiers felt leaving their loved ones, but highlighted their "noblest mission."
"You will be building bridges and will you ever," she said, stressing their support of Afghan democracy.
"Responding to any national call is nothing new for members of the Connecticut National Guard," said Maj. Gen. Thaddeus J. Martin, adjutant general and state commander, noting the current deployment represented 135 of the 169 state municipalities. "When you call out the Guard, you call out America."
Attending to support the deployment, Lt. Col. Bill Adams, of Waterbury's 143rd Forward Support Battalion, said service overseas had fostered tighter bonds between soldiers. He described three types in the National Guard: those who are deployed, those who are going and those who have come back.
Watching the ceremony with a small American flag in hand, Verjulia Wilkins, of Waterbury, had difficulty talking about her son, Jimmy Davis, 22, a team captain. "I don't want him to leave," she said, tears welling up. "They don't always return safe."
The United States has about 18,000 troops in Afghanistan, a country that can be as deadly for American soldiers as Iraq. The number of U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan is now 259.
Foster, who has played for SCSU's soccer team, said, "I'm gonna miss that." But he described the interruption of his college education as "a minor setback." Like several of the other SCSU students, he previously had to set aside his books for six months of training at Fort Drum in Watertown, N.Y.
Foster came to America from Jamaica in 1997 and is now a U.S. citizen. He is single and lives in an apartment in East Haven.
Another Jamaican studying at SCSU, Dennis Cole, 30, does not yet have his U.S. citizenship. The Guardsman specialist lives in New Haven with his wife, Sharon Cole, and their two kids, ages 2 and 5.
"It is an emotional time for us," Cole acknowledged. "My wife will be praying for me."
Mike Kaman, 24, of North Haven, recently graduated from SCSU. He said his diploma will be mailed to his parents, Andrea and Richard Kaman, while he is away.
Kaman, who grew up a fan of the "G.I. Joe" character, enlisted in 1998 - three years before the 9/11 attacks on America which led to U.S. troops going to war in Afghanistan and then Iraq.
"I've seen the military change so much," he said. "Five years ago there was no (National Guard combat) deployment."
But Kaman, a staff sergeant, said, "This needs to be done." He added, "Being a single young guy, it's a nice adventure to look forward to."
"It'll probably be one of the toughest things I've ever done, he said. "But I know it's for the right cause."
Some of the SCSU students, including Spc. Michael Messina, 23, of Milford, said 9/11 motivated them to enlist.
Messina, who is single, said his parents and grandparents are "taking this kind of hard. They're saying, Don't be a hero.'"
He said initially he worried about going to Afghanistan, "but I got over that. Whatever's going to happen is going to happen."
