Col. Morris Goins, commander of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) of the 25th Infantry Division, announced Tuesday that an advance force will begin leaving early in November for Afghanistan, with the bulk of the brigade's six battalions arriving there by December.
Meeting with Anchorage reporters, Goins and his top aides declined for security reasons to give a more precise schedule or to name the provinces in Afghanistan the soldiers will patrol until they are fully in place. But he said they will be working in the International Security Assistance Force's Regional Command East.
In its previous deployment, the 4-25th also went to RC East and was assigned to the dangerous border provinces of Paktika, Paktiya and Khost -- ground zero of the infamous Haqqani Network, the Taliban allies with links to anti-American elements of the Pakistan security services.
Thirteen soldiers from the brigade died in combat during that 12-month deployment, with another two dying of other causes, one in an accident, the other a suicide in the brigade's rear detachment in Anchorage. Another was left behind - Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from Ketchum, Idaho, a prisoner of Haqqani insurgents since he disappeared June 30, 2009.
Asked whether the brigade will be getting into that kind of hotly contested territory this time around, Goins said, "It looks that way."
Goins scheduled the roundtable discussion with Anchorage news media as part of the Army's ever-expanding efforts to connect with the communities that surround its bases. Among the reasons behind that effort is the recognition that Army families live in those communities too, and when soldiers deploy, life can get tough for spouses and kids left behind.
Some 2,000 of the brigade's 3,500 soldiers are married, he said. Many will renew their vows in a special ceremony today.
'THEY HAVE A FAMILY HERE AS WELL'
Sitting beside Goins and other uniformed officers from brigade headquarters was Goins' civilian wife, Yolanda Goins. He described her as one of his top advisers and a voice for those families.
When their soldier deploys, the spouse left behind has a choice -- stay in Alaska or go back to their hometown. While the choice is voluntary, Yolanda Goins said, it's clear what she thinks is the best decision.
"The reason I encourage them to stay, although they can go home, their family is there, they have a family here as well," she said. "You would be amazed at the relationships that are forged during deployment -- and it happens every time."
The Army has beefed up counseling for families, she and the others said, and local schools and churches are tuning up to provide support as well. The Army is also installing special video conferencing links between Anchorage and each battalion headquarters in Afghanistan so soldiers can stay in touch.
"When you're home, down hanging out with Mom and Pop, that capability is not available for you," Col. Goins said.
Several hundred of the brigade's soldiers are women -- Goins didn't have the exact number -- and there are some special opportunities for them in this deployment.
Command Sgt. Maj. Terry Gardner, the brigade's senior noncommissioned officer, said about two dozen of the women soldiers volunteered for a special female engagement team. The team has been given special training in rural Afghan cultural norms that severely restrict the kind of contact that local women can have with men.
While there are no plans to include the women on patrols except on special occasions -- women are barred by law from being sent into combat -- Gardner said engagement team members would be sent to hospitals, schools and events where Afghan women are likely to gather. The soldiers are taught how to sit and eat like proper Afghan women and how to tie a head scarf when it's safe to remove their helmets, Gardner said.
FEW ALASKA FORCES IN IRAQ
The 4-25th was created at Fort Richardson in 2005. It deployed for nearly 15 months in Iraq during the time of the surge and the worst of the civilian bombings and insurgencies of 2007. Fifty-three soldiers from the brigade died during that deployment.
In an Army experiment in rapid turn-around -- it was also a time of troop shortages -- the brigade spent 14 months at home, then deployed for a year to Afghanistan in February 2009. This time, it's been nearly 22 months between deployments.
Now the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down. President Obama said troops would be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year, and from Afghanistan by 2014.
Few Alaska-based forces are in Iraq now. Nine are deployed from the Alaska National Guard, and 30 from the Alaska Air National Guard's 168th Air Refueling Wing in Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks left for Iraq in August.
The regular Army in Alaska currently has about 500 soldiers deployed in Iraq, mostly from the 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment of Fort Wainwright. The squadron flies attack and reconnaissance helicopters.
Afghanistan is another matter. The 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, consisting for 4,000 soldiers based at Fort Wainwright, deployed to southern Afghanistan in May for a year. The 170-member 164th Military Police Co. left Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in March for 12 months training Afghan security forces. About 120 Alaska Army Guardsman from B Co., 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry (Airborne) Regiment are scheduled to go for a year-long deployment in November.
All that activity was on the mind of Sen. Lisa Murkowski when she met Monday with Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on a visit to Alaska. She noted that by April, Alaska-based soldiers will make up about 10 percent of America's presence in Afghanistan.
Back at the news media roundtable, Col. Goins said the families left behind deserve special tribute.
"I would ask you that as you go out and you see the family members, tell them thank you. Soldiers get medals and pats on the back and maybe an article in the paper, but nine times out of 10, it's the spouses at home that don't get a whole lot of pats on the back," he said. "I would ask you, tell the spouses and family members thanks for their contributions to this thing, because they're giving wholeheartedly."
Reach Richard Mauer at rmauer@adn.com or 257-4345.
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