Reservist on alert

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- He hasn't been called to war yet, but Patrick Johnson of New Ulm isn't far from it.

Last Friday night, Johnson received a telephone call informing him that his Twin Cities Army Reserve unit is on alert for active duty recall.

If and when the call to active duty comes, Johnson will be one of the first soldiers to go. He is a chemical operations specialist in the Army Reserve. His unit's mission is to provide nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance support through an area of operations to locate, identify, mark and report contamination, and identify bypass routes around contaminated areas.

Chemical recon is nothing new to Johnson. After nine weeks of boot camp training at Fort Leonardwood, Mo., 2 1/2 years ago, he attended 11 weeks of advanced training in chemical operations. He later attended a two-week training course at the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy for Hazardous Materials.

A sophomore engineering major at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Johnson graduated from Cathedral High School in 2001.

Although he doesn't know the possible destination of his unit, it will likely be someplace in the Middle East.

When he joined the Army Reserve in high school, Johnson chose the chemical reconnaissance field over becoming a combat engineer because it provided a bigger bonus check.

Johnson is ready to defend his country in a war. It's what he's been training to do, he said.

His sister Sarah, a senior psychology major at the College of St. Benedict, admits to some uneasiness about her brother going to war.

"The unknown makes me a little nervous," Sarah said. "I don't know much about foreign relations. I've thought about my brother and other friends in the military going to war since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. I'm probably more nervous about it than they are. My brother chose to serve in the Army Reserve, and I'm supportive of that."

Patrick Johnson has talked to Operation Desert Storm veterans and learned about their wartime experiences a decade ago.

"They said it was 6 1/2 months of boredom with a few minutes of action thrown in," he said.