Winthrop soldiers pack up for duty

To support Operation Iraqi Freedom for 18 months

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

WINTHROP -- More than 100 U.S. Army Reservists based here loaded up their individual footlockers in packing crates at the reserve center Friday in preparation for 18-months of active duty deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

That wasn't all they were doing. The 452nd Quartermaster Co., was busy preparing for its mission of bulk food shipment, fuel storage and distribution, water purification and general supply operation.

For Company 1st Sergeant Bill Klaers of Wabasso, orders to active army duty mean taking care of many details. Klaers -- whose regular daytime job for the past 14 years has been teaching agriculture and industrial arts at Wabasso High School -- it means taking care of personnel, health, welfare and training issues for the enlisted soldiers.

His new job will be similar in some ways to his former position, but different in other ways.

"This will be a little different from what I usually do every day. I'm still dealing with plenty of people, it's just that they're a little older (in the Army Reserve, compared to high school students)," Klaers said.

He was doing some remodeling at home. That work will have to be done by somebody else or put on hold. His wife Jane handles the family finances so that responsibility won't change.

"She's a very strong, independent woman," Bill Klaers said. He'll also leave behind two children, aged seven and 14.

Area enlisted soldiers making the deployment include Dominic Trapp, 19, of Fairfax; Josh Hartung of Le Center; Brad McGuire and Sean Kelly, both of Gaylord; and Renee Williams, a student at Martin Luther College in New Ulm. All of them work with petroleum supply.

Trapp, 19, planned to study engineering at Ridgewater College in Hutchinson. He was doing machinery work at Celex Wire & Tube Cutting in Gibbon.

Hartung worked at Le Sueur Inc., a metal foundry, when he got the orders to active duty. Since he plans to study law enforcement, orders to active duty will allow him to save more money for college, which is why many soldiers joined the reserves.

"This will help," Hartung said. "I hate to leave my family and friends, but I'm open to new experiences, serving my country and getting some stories to tell."

Brad McGuire of Gaylord plans to study pre-medicine at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He didn't seem surprised he got active duty orders. His sister Melissa drills as an Army reservist in Buffalo, Mn. She has not been called to active duty.

"I kinda saw this coming," he said. "I get to save more money for college."

A former wrestler at Sibley East High School, he joked about getting the chance to ride a camel in the Middle East.

Kelly was about to start work assembling electronic control panels at a plant in Gaylord when he was ordered to active duty. He wasn't surprised.

"I knew it would happen," Kelly said. "I just didn't know when."

Kelly wasn't sure if he'd be able to continue his favorite hobbies -- trapshooting and playing pool -- after he reaches his new duty station.

Williams, of Antiqua, an island in the Caribbean, was studying elementary education at MLC. Two of her relatives served in the Navy. One is retired. Another is serving aboard ship.

"I was a little scared at first, but I'm getting lots of moral support from the other soldiers," Williams said. "I'm feeling better as it goes."

Captain John W. Maenhardt, the company commander of the 452nd, is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and now lives in Hutchinson. He commended his troops and those supporting them.

"These people have done a phenomenal job getting mobilized in an incredibly short amount of time," Maenhardt said. "I hope their neighbors can understand that because they deserve the recognition. We've also received outstanding support from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The 452nd Quartermaster Co. will be honored Saturday night by the Winthrop American Legion and VFW organizations.

The soldiers will travel to Fort McCoy, Wis. early next week for several months of training. After that, they will head overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their final destination was not disclosed.

Up to 4,000 Upper Midwest Reserve and National Guard troops are expected to be ordered to active duty this month, according to the U.S. Army Reserve Public Affairs office at Fort Snelling.

Several months ago, the Minnesota Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, based in New Ulm, mobilized more than 500 soldiers to conduct security operations at North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) installations in Europe.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, National Guard units from around the country have been deployed to guard U.S. military interests in England, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Turkey.