38 SEABEES DEPART FOR SHIELD DUTY

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Thirty-eight Seabees, a construction unit that trains at the Cape Girardeau Naval Reserve Center, left here Saturday as a step toward deployment for the Persian Gulf.

The group left by chartered bus for St. Louis, where they will board a plane en route to Port Hueneme, Calif.

"This is the second large group from here which has been called to active duty as part of Operation Desert Shield," said Lt. Commander Jack Dalrymple, who heads up the reserve center. The reservists will receive three to four weeks of training in California before being deployed to Saudi Arabia.

Fifty-two members of a fleet hospital unit left the Naval Reserve Center here Monday, en route to Ft. Dix, N.J., where they will be deployed to the gulf area.

"Four more reservists will depart Thursday for direct deployment to ships already in the Gulf area," said Dalrymple. "The four young men are members of the Surface Readiness Unit here."

Three of the reservists will report to the USS Stein, a frigate, and the fourth will report to the USS Leftwich, a destroyer, said Dalrymple.

About 120 relatives and friends of the 38 departing reservists attended a brief ceremony here at 10 a.m. Saturday.

"The reservists are members of the Reserve Naval Construction Force Support Unit 4, headquartered at Granite City, Ill.," said Dalrymple. "Sixty-two reservists were included in the call. Twenty-four of them were from the St. Louis detachment."

The 38 members leaving from Cape Girardeau Saturday were from Detachment A, which has 150 members and trains at the naval center here.

"The 38 which were selected for active duty were picked for their various military specialty," said Dalrymple. "Most were mechanics, drivers, or small engine repair specialists, and will be involved in equipment maintenance and repair in Saudi Arabia."

The reservists were called for 180 days (six months).

"All orders now are being cut for the 180 days," said Dalrymple. "Earlier in the gulf crisis, reservists and National Guard members were being called for 90 days, which could be extended to a second 90 days."

Three reservists from this area who have been called to active duty have requested deferments because of personal hardships.

"We received word on two the of the requests Saturday," said Dalrymple. "They were granted a two-week delay, at which time they must report."

The center is still awaiting word on a third request, by Dr. Robert F. Sacha.

"We are expecting word on that request any day now," said Dalrymple.