Hundreds of Maine reservists mobilized for war

PORTLAND – From Marine Corps Reserve infantrymen to Air National Guard refueling specialists, hundreds of military reservists from Maine are training for or participating in the war against Iraq.

They include a broad range of specialties: intelligence analysts, helicopter pilots, security personnel and construction engineers.

The mobilizations, like those that took place during the 1991 Gulf War, reflect the Defense Department’s growing reliance on reserves to supplement a shrinking force of active duty military.

About 350 Maine Army National Guard troops – most of them transportation or medevac personnel – have been deployed this time, up from the 200 called up a dozen years ago.

Many of the 846 Maine reservists from the various service branches who have been activated this time are undergoing training or standing by to await deployment.

Eighty Maine riflemen from the Topsham-based A Company, 1st Battalion of the 25th Marines were mobilized Jan. 16 and reported to Camp Lejeune, N.C., six days later to join up with the 2nd Marine Division.

“Since then, they’ve been involved in training to bring them up to speed,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jeff Harren.

If Marines were sent to the Middle East, they would be returning to familiar territory. The unit, then a Dragons platoon and a scout snipers platoon, was activated during the first Gulf War and sent to Kuwait.

The Maine unit that has seen the biggest call-up, the 101st Air Refueling Wing, is in a unique situation that enables its members to do their jobs without leaving home.

Of its nearly 900 members, 264 have been activated and some have been doing full-time duty out of Bangor International Airport since the attack on Afghanistan that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

“We’re in a unique location in the United States. It makes us the last opportunity to get gas as you head over the Atlantic,” said Maj. Mark Tuck, the executive officer.

Unit members include flight crews for the KC-135 tankers that refuel military aircraft as well as support personnel such as those involved in security, fire protection and aircraft maintenance.

Other large units include the Bangor-based 1136th Transportation Company, which is responsible for moving cargo. With 174 members activated, the unit is now at its mobilization site at Fort Dix, N.J.

“They’re standing by,” said Maj. Peter Rogers, spokesman for the National Guard. “They’ve gone through all their mandatory training down there and they’re waiting for the word to deploy.”

The 112th Medical Company, also based in Bangor, had a call-up of 149 members and is now at Fort Drum, N.Y. “It looks like they will be moving within days, at this point,” Rogers said.

An Associated Press database of mobilized reservists listed 846 from Maine, including about 100 members of Naval Reserve units. But John James, public affairs director at the Brunswick Naval Air Station, said a larger share of the 1,500 Naval Reserve personnel in Maine has been called up.

The database lists 23 reservists on duty at Souda Bay in Crete, but James said at least 50 have been deployed there, performing jobs that range from aircraft fuel handler to security.

Other reservists are filling in for active-duty Navy personnel, allowing them to be deployed overseas, he said.

During the first Gulf War, entire units were often called up, James said. “In this conflict, individual reservists with specific job skills are being individually mobilized.”

While 846 men and women from Maine have been called up, according to the AP list, many more remain available.

There are about 2,500 Army National Guard personnel and 1,500 in the Air National Guard, Rogers said.

Reservists come from all across Maine and there are even some who live out-of-state and travel to Maine for their drills. “They like the unit, or they may have been members of the unit who moved out of state,” Rogers said.

Reservists have a range of reasons for signing up, including college tuition assistance, additional pay and a quest for adventure, Rogers said. “The majority of our folks are very patriotic,” he added. “They think it’s the right thing to do.”

Those who are called up are guaranteed that they will be able to get their civilian jobs back when they return. And some employers have agreed to make up for the decrease in pay that reservists face while on duty.

Among them are Maine Medical Center, where 10 of the roughly 5,000 employees have been activated.

“The majority are nurses, but we do have some other positions: a cath lab tech, an environmental service worker, a maintenance mechanic,” said Paula Squires, vice president for human resources.

Despite the national nursing shortage, the Portland hospital has been able to bring in staff or have people work additional hours to cover the lost shifts, Squires said.