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News From OregonNational Guard soldiers welcomed home  Spc. Marcel Alvarado gave daughter Marshunna a kiss after members of the 1st Battalion 129th Field Artillery returned from a year of active duty. Returning solders were told to enjoy their time with family but to remain ready because they could again be called back to active duty. For 46 soldiers, their families and friends, 2004's holiday season will be a much happier than last year's. A number of family members, friends and members of the public were on hand for a welcome home party on Monday at the headquarters of the Missouri National Guard's First Battalion 129th Field Artillery in Maryville. Read the rest of the story printed by the Maryville Daily Forum View the Photo of the Week featuring the Alvarado Family Here is some information about the area and activities that the Umatilla Soldiers have been able to be a part of since our deployment to the Depot. Umatilla Chemical Depot was established in 1941 and is the second largest chemical stockpile in the United States. It is located near Hermiston, Oregon, just off the junction of Interstates 84 and 82. I-84 is less than a half mile south of the depot. The topography is considered to be part of the mildly arrid Columbia Gorge Region. With rotary irrigation sources, however, the Umatilla County is one of the top agricultural areas in the state. With the Columbia River so near, many of us have been able to fish, boat and hike along the River. Since the Columbia travels the entire northern border of Oregon and travels parallel to I-84, many of us have travelled to the sites along the river. There is a large trout/sturgeon hatchery at exit 40 on the westbound lane that we have toured. Some of the sturgeon are over 13 feet long! Enormous rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout are raised at the hatchery and stocked in several states. The depot has a very active MWR (Military Welfare and Recreation) facility. The ladies have worked hard to schedule special events for the soldiers on the depot. There is a wonderful swimming pool and hot tub on the depot next to the 2-story gymnasium. Many of the events that the MWR personnel have scheduled have been in conjunction with local concerts, fairs, rodeos, auto races, off-shore fishing trips and camping trips. They have provided us with tents, pull-type campers, sleeping bags and a wide variety of camping equipment and supplies. Most of the equipment is free of charge. SFC Scott Nelson, the depot NCOIC, has been very active in assisting in scheduling some of the government vehicles for our use to attend special functions and trips. He and Sgt. David White organized and participated in a Umatilla band, comprised of several of the deployed soldiers, SFC Nelson and Major Amos (Depot S2). The band developed a repetoir of 10 songs and was able to record their very own music video when the John Lennon Memorial Song Writing Contest bus came through on Memorial Day. The bus is touring military installations across the country this year and developing a video of several soldiers' musical talents and sending it to our overseas soldiers who have been deployed. Combined with USO, several recording companies and The John Lennon Society. You can see the video on the website by going to jlsc.com...clicking on the tour bus...then clicking the tour busy schedule button...and scrolling down to the Umatilla Band. Since it was Memorial Day...the band determi ned to do the John Michael Montgomery song, "Letters From Home." The bus, equipped with a total recording and editing music/video studio is valued at 5million dollars. Sgt. White represented Delta Battery again this year as he won Umatilla NCO of the Year competition and then went on to do very well at the next level of competition at RDECOM (Research & Development Engineering Command) Aberdeen, Maryland. It was at this time that Sgt. White and his Umatilla soldiers bumped into First Sergeant Phillip Butler and his soldiers from the Pueblo, Colorado depot. They had a great time of touring Washington D.C., later in the week and attending late President Ronald Reagan's memorial at the Nation's Capital. Many of our Delta soldiers are trying to enjoy some of the local opportunities and serve the community during our deployment. Some have done community service projects as local groups have requested our help to represent the military. Several of Delta's soldiers manned a military support group float for the Umatilla County Fair Parade. American Citizens Encouraging Support (ACES) invited us to participate in one of the largest floats in the parade. We were accompanied by several returning soldiers from Iraq. One young staff sergeant had lost his left leg during a convoy attack and was being escorted by another returning soldier, Major Judy Egbert. We were very humbled to be involved but they were all very grateful. The semi-rig that we were on had a huge sound system that played patriotic music as we travelled the parade course. As we travelled the crowds along the side of the road would rise up, many veterans saluting while other waved or put their hands over their hearts. The Hermiston, Oregon area is very pro military, especially since their local unit was just deployed in July to prepare for service in Iraq. Sgt. White and SFC. Nelson also assisted at the Umatilla County Fair by helping to do equipment set-up for the bands at the fair. This year the fair commmittee scheduled Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult and Tracy Byrd for concerts. They had a great time connecting with the artists, setting up equipment and even getting to play guitar and drums with some of the band members. Sgt. White has been taking on-line guitar lessons since his deployment and spends a large amount of his free time developing the September 11th was the kick-off date for the largest rodeo in the United States, just 35 miles east, in Pendelton, Oregon. Many of our soldiers were able to attend and enjoy the action. It is an understatement for some to say that our soldiers have been able to enjoy themselves in a wide variety of off-post activities. They have even managed to fall in love. On October 16th, Sgt. David White, who also happens to be an ordained minister, will be performing a wedding ceremony for a deployed member of the 128th F.A., on the depot at the MWR facility. There have been numerous opportunities for us to participate in a variety of special events, activities and off-depot endeavors. All of the activities have also served as a great distraction as well. It was very tough for us to leave our homes, jobs and families to go on this deployment. This brief synopsis does not take into account the lonely times and struggles that each of us have been forced to deal with. The soldiers of Delta Battery wanted to let you know that in spite of the difficulty there have been times when we were able to enjoy doing some things that we may not have been able to do otherwise. We are extremely grateful to be able to serve our country in this capacity and we all have a deeper sense of appreciation for the term "citizen/soldier." When asked about the scenery, Buff said it was surrounded by mountains in the distance, very windy and just like a dust bowl where they are situated, but if you looked in some directions it was so open that you could see your dog running away from home for 3 days. |
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