RESERVE STRENGTH: NEW ARMY RESERVE UNIT IN AREA

On the first day of drills for Cape Girardeau's new Army reserve unit, nobody marched.

"Today were in processing," said James Roche, drill sergeant. "We're going through paperwork, payroll and procedures."

The 27 members of the 348th Engineering Company now based in Cape Girardeau brought a variety of experiences together on Saturday for their first weekend together. But their goals are generally the same: to make extra money, get extra benefits and learn new skills.

Twenty-year-old Chris Faignaut looks to expand his experience working with new heavy equipment. He believes his work on his family's farm near Cape Girardeau will give him a boost in his weekend job with the Army.

The company needs people with construction experience, Roche said, since the primary duty of the group is to construct and lay pipelines.

The new unit should lift the local economy over time, said Sgt. Anita McDonald, unit administrator for the company.

Army officials say the economic impact on a community from each reserve officer is about $10,000, not counting their salaries.

Plans are to expand the unit to 157 reservists, McDonald said.

She believes the new unit will be able to draw a large number of recruits from around Cape Girardeau, especially because of the presence of Southeast Missouri State University.

"You go to drills once a month, have a few weeks of training in the summer and go back to school and get paid for doing it," she said. "That's hard to beat."

In February, the company will hold drills at a former grocery store at the Town Plaza, while maintaining a motor pool at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, Roche said.

Sgt. Warren Mosely, who is from St. Louis, was the first person assigned to the Cape Girardeau company. The 17-year Army veteran got his first training with laying pipelines in September at Fort Pickett, Va.

The group will go to Virginia again in the spring to practice by laying a 22-mile tract of pipeline, he said.