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Good Morning (MST), All!
It seems like the welcome homes will always be balanced by goodbyes.
This post - Guard members head for Germany - is about 118 National Guard members from the 128th Forward Support Battalion, part of the 28th Infantry Division, who are going to Kaiserlautern, Germany. They will be relieving men and women from the 35th Infantry Division who have been stationed overseas since January.

Paris White, 2, of Homestead salutes while her mother,
Specialist Saloam Bey-White, repacks her duffel bag at the
armory in Beechview yesterday. (Martha Rial, Post-Gazette)

1042nd Air Ambulance Members Deployed

ASTORIA, Ore. -- More than 100 Oregon soldiers are just weeks from deployment to the Middle East as part of the war against terrorism.

Salem's 1042nd Army National Guard Air Ambulance unit is training at Camp Rilea on the Oregon Coast.

Their deployment serves a need overseas, but could leave a void here in Oregon.

It's been a grueling week. The 1042nd Air Ambulance Co. is training to treat casualties and evacuate the wounded in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Afghanistan.

"When they hear the sound of that rotor blade coming in, they know the level of training of the 1042nd -- my medical people. We don't lose people," Major Mathew Brady said.

One mass-casualty exercise used three of the 12 Blackhawk helicopters that will be deployed, along with 108 medics, medical technicians, pilots and mechanics.

"This is why I joined. I didn't join for college money or anything like that. That's a good aspect, but being away from my family is kind of a bummer, too," Sgt. James Tournay said.

This will be Sgt. Andrea Westfall's first military deployment. In her civilian life, she's a surgical technician at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, Ore.

"There is fear, but if I focus too much, then it takes away from focusing on my job and being able to do what I need to do out there," Westfall said.

The training at Camp Rilea is military, medical and cultural, dealing with local customs, delivering babies and avoiding potential enemy fire.

The 1042nd assisted the Air Force 939th Rescue Wing during the Mount Hood climbing tragedy.

With the 939th losing its helicopters to other units, many feel that the 1042nd deployment leaves Oregon vulnerable the next time.

"We will still have three aircraft here in Oregon. All three of those aircraft are mission capable. The crews are here to provide that service."

For the others, the focus is on trying to save lives thousands of miles away.

The 1042nd will be in Fort Bragg, N.C., by the 24 of this month. They'll be deployed from there to the Middle East. The deployment could last up to a year.

Twenty members of the 1042nd are already at Fort Bragg.

Many of those headed to the Middle East have already seen active duty in Bosnia, and the Persian Gulf War.