Guard aids deployed Soldiers at Pennsylvania depot

Pfc. Paige Hite of Cape Girardeau worked in a fabrics facility that did all kinds of work, from refurbishing seat cushions to repairing tents to mending fabric for humvees.

LETTERKENNY ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- A group of nearly 30 Missouri National Guard Soldiers descended on Letterkenny Army Depot recently to accomplish two vital missions -- to receive real-world training at a large, U.S. military installation and to help their fellow Soldiers deployed thousands of miles away in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The DeSoto, Mo.-based 735th Quartermaster Force Provider Company held its annual training in June at the army depot in south-central Pennsylvania helping perform a full spectrum of tasks. The 28 Guardsmen, from detachments from all across Missouri, worked daily at various stations on the 17,500-acre facility working on various jobs that will be directly felt by Soldiers deployed overseas.

"Our guys are getting some good training here," said Sgt. 1st Class Alvin Sutton, the 735th's readiness noncommissioned officer. "As Soldiers, when we think about war, we think about infantry and engineers and everybody on the front line. What we've been doing for these past two weeks is giving us a whole new perspective."

For example, one group of Citizen-Soldiers worked with civilians employed at the depot to pack metal crates to be shipped to Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The crates were packed with shower and laundry units, kitchens, recreational games and air compressors. They also worked to prepare generators for shipping.

At another station, Guardsmen worked to disassemble mobile kitchen trailers which had been overseas and now can be rebuilt and re-sent. Another group worked on plumbing fixtures that can be part of the showers that are shipped overseas. Another group worked to patch up fabrics in torn tents and to replace buttons on covers for air conditioning units.

Two National Guard Soldiers even worked at the water-treatment facility to help treat industrial-grade waste from the facility so it was safe to put back in the environment.

"We've been doing all kinds of things," Sutton said. "It's amazing what they do here. It's impressive. It's been a neat annual training. Almost everybody is working within their military occupation specialty. It's an exciting opportunity to see something different and to do something that has an impact on our fellow Soldiers who are in the war zones."

Letterkenny Army Depot is under the command structure of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command. Other than what the Guard Soldiers from Missouri worked on, the depot facilities are used to conduct maintenance, modification, storage and demilitarization operations on tactical missiles and ammunition. The depot has been supporting Soldiers for more than 60 years and employs 3,520 people -- a mix of civilian and Soldiers. One of its most high-profile products is the PATRIOT missile.

Soldiers from the 735th were pleased to have an annual training that had more meaning for them.

Sgt. Chris Etling of the 735th in DeSoto, said it's also sobering to think about.

"We could be on the other side," he said. "This is important. We would want it done right if we were over there and so we're taking it seriously. These are basically bases in a box. It's going to be important that it's done right and we're making sure it is."

Spc. Li Pan of Detachment 2 in Jefferson City, who was helping load boxes for shipping, said she realized the work was important.

"We're really doing a good thing over here," she said. "This equipment is essential to the mission in Afghanistan and Iraq. We're doing our part in a small way to help them out over there."

Spc. Nadia Porter of Detachment 4 in Rolla agreed.

"We want to do this right way," she said. "One of these days, I could be over there and I wouldn't want to get a box that was messed up."

Spc. Dave Painter of Detachment 5 at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis also recognized the importance of his work to the military's overall mission. Painter lives in Florissant, Mo.

"This could be stuff I'm using in a year," he said. "We never know when we're going to get called up to go. Everybody has to do their part for the mission to succeed. The stuff in these boxes gives people a life over there. I never thought about this part of the mission. But it's important."

The full-time supervisers at Letterkenny also bragged on the work the 735th had done while it was there.

"They've been wonderful," said Staff Sgt. Ramon Hawkins, a material identifier for the boxes that are being sent overseas. "They have helped us pack these boxes that will be opened by the troops overseas. All of these guys are great workers. I wish we could keep them."

Edgar Linton, a civilian who oversees the mobile kitchen trailer facility, said the Missouri National Guard Soldiers showed a real willingness to work.

"They've been busy," he said. "They've taken an interest. I'm very glad to have had their help."

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.

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For more information about this release, please contact Scott Moyers at (573) 339-6264 or e-mail him at scott.moyers1@us.army.mil.