WAR GAMES AND TRUCK PULL MAKE DEBUT AT SEMO FAIR

Wading slowly up a creek for 20 minutes only to wind up dead at your destination is no one's idea of a pleasant late-summer evening.

But Sgt. Mike Ressel considers it fun.

Ressel and seven of his Missouri National Guard comrades crept up Cape La Croix Creek Wednesday to attack and capture a Bailey bridge being held by six fellow guardsmen.

It was all part of an exercise in war games being conducted by segments of the 1140th Combat Engineers this week at the SEMO District Fair.

"We set it up for viewers to be calm and relaxed, and then we come sneaking up and attack," said Ressel of Cape Girardeau.

The war games and the Tri-State Truck Pullers competition held Wednesday night both made their first appearances at this year's fair.

Sgt. Chad Craft of Jackson came up with the idea of conducting tactical exercises at the fair.

"We have a high-visibility display every year here and set up a recruiting booth to try to show the public that we do more than react to disasters," Craft said.

About 40 guardsmen from the Cape Girardeau-based unit are participating in the exercise throughout the week. Attacks were also held Monday and are scheduled again for Friday at 7 p.m. Maj. Dwight Lusk said, with fair-board permission, a demonstration may also be held at the same time tonight.

Using real weapons modified with Miles gear, a laser targeting system, the guardsmen are able to simulate combat situations.

It is not a type of training the unit often gets. "It's a pretty efficient means of training, and the first a lot of us have done since basic," Craft said.

Craft and the other attackers are at a disadvantage because the defenders have the high ground and are entrenched behind fortified positions. In their assault they suffered six casualties while inflicting two.

Directors of the SEMO District Fair Board scheduled the truck pull this year to offer something new in the way of outdoor events. More than 2,000 people attended the competition in the Grandstand.

"Outdoor motor sports are spreading, so that seemed to be the way to go," said fair board member Gary Kight.

Professional drivers from several states competed in the event, which offered a combined purse of $3,600 to the winners.

In the competition, trucks pull a sled that gets heavier with every foot traveled. As they head down the 300-foot dirt track they eventually pull up to 65,000 pounds.

Allen Thompson of Grinnell, Iowa, a 10-year veteran of the sport, said trucks usually only make it 200 to 250 feet before they can pull no more.

"You better have her flat-footed before that," Thompson said.