6C COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL November 8, 2017
Looking back: Oregon
troops return home
Reprinted from the
Dec. 15, 2004 Sentinel
STORY AND PHOTOS BY STAFF SGT.
REBEKAH MAE N. BRUNS
39th Brigade Combat Public Affairs
T
he fi nal round of Oregon Guard
soldiers who have reached their
24-month service cap for high opera-
tion tempo are returning home from
Iraq. A law enacted by congress shortly
after 9-11 limits a Guard or Reserve
soldier’s active duty obligation to 24
months within a fi ve-year time span.
The law was established to help avoid
the abuse of reserve forces.
The Second Battalion, 162nd Infan-
try sent home a total of 60 Soldiers
of the 95 who qualifi ed to return to
the states. Thirty chose to stay in Iraq
while another fi ve were sent back for
rehabilitation due to battle injuries.
Bat. Cmdr. Daniel Hendrickson spoke
to soldiers during a recent awards cer-
emony and explained that he respected
their decisions to leave Iraq.
“You guys have paid your dues on
the deployment and on previous de-
ployments — that has earned you the
right to go home,” Hendrickson said.
“You all have families and guys and
families come fi rst because they will be
here after this career is over.”
Soldiers from Oregon who quali-
fi ed to return home served on the Sinai
Penninsula as part of a multinational
observers force that was established
in a peace agreement brokered by for-
“We’ve lost good
men — they’ve been
wounded and they’ve
been killed, but none
of you quit. You did
the right thing. I will
savor every moment
I have shared with
you, both bitter and
sweet.”
— Lt. Col. Hendrickson
mer President Jimmy Carter between
Egypt and Israel in 1979. The soldiers
returned to their civilian lives after
completing their deployment in Egypt
but were mobilized again eight months
later for duty in Iraq to fi ll out the Sec-
ond Battalion, 162nd Infantry, head-
quartered in Cottage Grove.
Hendrickson said he wished sol-
diers would stay because he didn’t like
breaking up a good team but he under-
stood their choices.
“This Team is known as one of the
top-two battalions in the First Calvary
Division,” Hendrickson said. “That’s
coming from Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli
and Ass. Div. Cmdr. Of Supply Brig.
Gen. Hammond.”
The Soldiers returning home have
served and fought in some of Iraq’s
most tumultuous areas, including East-
Lt. Col Daniel Hendrickson, left, gives one of his soldiers a fi nal salute for his service in Iraq. Soldiers
who reached their 24-month service cap were given 'end of tour' awards for their time spent in Opera-
tion Iraqi Freedom.
ern Baghdad’s Sadr City, Adhamiya
and Taji, a city located just 20 miles
north of Iraq’s capital. Other elements
of the battalion have fought in Najaf
and aided in Fallujah with the First
Calvary Divisions, Second Battalion,
Seventh Calvary Regiment. The bat-
talion as a whole has lost nine soldiers
and seen 51 wounded in action.
“We’ve lost good men — they’ve
been wounded and they’ve been killed,
but none of you quit. You did the right
thing,” said Hendrickson speaking to
soldiers. “I will savor every moment I
have shared with you, both bitter and
sweet.”
The 30 Oregon soldiers who chose
to stay will be paid an extra $1,000 a
month as incentive from the Depart-
ment of Defense for each month that
extends past their 24-month obliga-
tion.
We Salute our Veterans!
Soldiers returning home were ex-
pected to arrive in Fort Hood, Texas,
last week where they were to spend fi ve
days in a series of debriefi ngs before
returning to their families in Oregon.
The rest of the battalion will remain
in Iraq to complete its scheduled one-
year “boots on the ground” rotation.
Offi cials anticipate the rotation will
culminate sometime in March.
JIM'S
TIRE & AUTO SER VICE
Brightening Lives One Smile at a Time
With Respect,
Honor
And Gratitude
Thank you
Veterans!
Cottage Grove • 541-942-1559
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We will always stand for you. Thank you!
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O
n Veterans Day, we salute the American veterans and active-duty
military whose courage and dedication have protected our freedom
and our way of life for generations. We recognize their service and
their sacrifi ce, their selfl essness and bravery, their hard work and their faith.
Please join us in celebrating the men and women of our military, past and
present, this Veterans Day. Proudly fl y your fl ag, thank a veteran and show
your support for those who continue to serve today.
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541-942-3325
Th anks, Veterans!