Changing Of The Guard

Iraq War Alabama's National Guard is much more than training one weekend and month and two weeks in the summer!

by Tiffany Craig

Published: Fri, November 30, 2007 - 10:00 pm CST Last Updated: Fri, November 30, 2007 - 10:29 pm CST

Since the start of the Iraq War, thousands of Alabama Guard Troops have done their duty.. And then some. Sergeant David Smith remembers his extended tour of duty. "We went over the first time in 03. We were in Al Doha about 5 miles south of Baghdad. It was extremely hot, long working days, about 16 hours a day everyday."

Smith is part of the 1165th Military Police Company from Fairhope. Their unit was activated in March 2003 and the soldiers didn't return home until July 2004. They were getting ready to come home in March but got the order to stay and had to call home and deliver the bad news just before Easter.

So you might imagine Smith's hesitation thinking about another round. "Aren't you worried that if you get sent back again you'll be there for awhile? Yeah."

The new rule says that Guard troops can't be activated for more than 12 months for every 5 years served.

In past deployments, a battle for proper equipment made these soldiers feel second class even while doing a first class job. Sergeant Smith says it was a struggle. "We didn't have anything being National Guard. We don't have anything that active duty has. So there were quite a few things that we needed that we didn't have."

Over time says Captain Kevin Smith, equipment trickled in. "When we finally got the equipment, we were happy. Then, we started getting more and more and we were able to do our mission and be safe."

Getting the right equipment is no longer a problem say Guard leaders and neither are extended deployments.

But there's one thing that policy changes can't change, the fighting men and women already lost.

Staff Sergeant Kevin Carroll remembers the day Specialist Chris Taylor was killed. He lives with the memory daily. "It was a bad situation and that's part of our job you know. He was a good person."

Known by his fellow soldiers as Big T, Taylor was driving an unarmored humvee. It rolled over an explosive device. "We heard the explosion behind us and I had my gunner to look back at the vehicle. It was going side to side and we knew something had happened but we didn't know exactly what."

The 25-year old soldier was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (I.E.D) and paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

Carroll stopped fighting back the tears and says it helps (sometimes) to talk about it. "Going over, you know that there's a possibility that you'll lose your life. Of course, that's what happened to Big T."

Every year, the 1165th remembers Taylor on the date he died (Feb. 16th) and on Veterans Day.

In March 2008, the 1165th will once again be eligible for active duty.

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