Maine Guard troops depart for Gulf Coast

BANGOR – Staff Sgt. Brian Wilson of Dixmont spent his last days in Maine hunting for moose, playing games with his young family and fixing the roof of his garage.

The 161/2-year combat veteran then packed his bags and, along with 84 other soldiers from the 133rd Engineer Battalion of the Maine Army National Guard, left Bangor on Sunday morning on another mission.

This time, the 133rd is assisting with Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. The first planeload of soldiers left at 11 a.m. Sunday from Bangor; the second plane left 30 minutes later.

Seven members of the Maine Air National Guard’s 243rd Engineering Installation Squadron of South Portland accompanied the 133rd on Sunday and will spend their time fixing communication problems for the region.

The soldiers were traveling light, each with only a duffel bag and a carry-on. Their equipment, including bulldozers and loaders, already has been sent to Louisiana.

More Maine troops from both groups are scheduled to leave today and Tuesday.

“Between [Sunday], Monday and Tuesday we’re going to have around 160 deployed to Louisiana, and their primary mission is to clean up debris,” Capt. Mark Champagne, 101st Air Refueling Wing spokesman, said Sunday.

The 101st is delivering the troops to the Alexandria (La.) International Airport northwest of Baton Rouge. The 243rd members will be dropped off in Georgia along the way to pick up their equipment.

Wilson had an unloaded M-16 machine gun over his shoulder as he stood waiting to board a bus to the KC 135-E air-refueling plane that would take him to Louisiana. He described his assignment as “fluid.”

“They told us it would be recovery, but that could be a lot of things,” said the husband and father of two. “Probably I’ll be picking up stuff and hauling it. Whatever they want, we’ll be doing it.”

The 133rd returned from a deployment to Mosul, Iraq, in March, ending the largest Maine Army National Guard deployment since World War II. Three of its soldiers were killed, and the unit earned 35 Bronze Stars and 42 Purple Hearts while in the war zone.

“This is nothing in comparison,” 1st Lt. Shanon Cotta, commander of Alpha Company of Belfast, which is leading the mission for the 133rd, said before getting on the plane.

“The soldiers are generally excited about helping to improve the quality of life of fellow Americans. It’s a nice mission,” he said.

Approximately 90 percent of the 84 who are being deployed are combat veterans, Cotta said. The soldiers will be a part of Task Force Castle, which will be led by Louisiana’s 205th Engineering Battalion.

“This is the first time in years we’ve had a major [domestic] deployment,” Champagne said.

Ever since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Wilson has been watching events unfold on TV with his family, but, he admitted, he’s still unsure about what to expect at the location he and the other Maine soldiers will call home for a month.

“I’ve got my cell phone” to keep in touch with family, he said. “And if we have power, I’ll be able to power it up.”