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Whitney Crafton, 15, holds cousin Javan Marshall, 5, and the Rev. Claude Tolbert hugs his wife, Barbara, as they pray for the 319th.
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Bobbie Farrell isn't an early riser, but she was up before dawn Sunday, putting on her Army uniform and packing her duffel bags and gear into the trunk of her car.
Under a glowing moon, she and her daughter Arnecia Coleman, 15, took the short ride from their apartment to the reserve center on Wrightsboro Road. Staff Sgt. Farrell sang along with the music on a gospel radio station as they drove. The song was about overcoming adversity and enduring hardship.
Arnecia said it didn't bother her that her mother was leaving. She said she was upset when she found out a week ago, but since then she has accepted it.
"She's a good soldier," Staff Sgt. Farrell, a 32-year-old single mom and a psychology major at Augusta State University, said of her daughter. "She handles hardness like a good soldier."
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Sgt. Brandy Ramos (right) of Atlanta embraces her mother, May Way of Waynesboro, before leaving for Fort Stewart on Sunday.
ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER/STAFF |
Leaving behind the comforts of home to prepare for a possible war with Iraq, Augusta's "rolling thunder," the Army Reserve's 319th Transportation Company, rolled out of town in a line of charter buses Sunday morning. It was the start of a long trek that will take them to Fort Stewart, then likely to Kuwait as part of the massive buildup in case of war.
Staff Sgt. Farrell is one of 163 reservists serving with the 319th, which also includes 25 people from the 386th Transportation Company from Vicksburg, Miss., three from the 227th Transportation Company in Charlotte, N.C., and 20 members of the 319th who are already in Kuwait with all of the unit's tanker trucks.
The company's orders say it will be active for a year, but it could be more or less time depending on how events unfold. Until her mom returns, Arnecia will stay with members of her church in an apartment not far from her own. She remembers vividly the last time her mother was called up for active duty. She was a small child and Staff Sgt. Farrell was summoned to Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
"There's nothing you can do about it but get used to it," Arnecia said.
The scope of the sacrifice made by soldiers and their families was in full view Sunday as hundreds of family members, some tugging toddlers and small children, gathered in the biting cold to say goodbye. There were video cameras and groups posing for snapshots. There were tear-streaked faces and long, tight hugs. Fathers and mothers clutched their children with M-16 rifles slung over their shoulders.
"I've got a daughter who's going to turn 18 while I'm gone," said 2nd Lt. Richard Kennedy, 33, a truck driver. "I'm going to miss her prom.
"I'm hoping to be back in time to see her get married. I hope when she has children, what we're doing will make it a more peaceful world than what we're in now. If I can play a small role in that, I'll be happy."
Earlier Sunday morning, the soldiers were issued their weapons and chemical masks. The 319th's job in the desert would probably involve hauling petroleum from refineries to fuel farms - containers that resemble giant inflatable mattresses and serve as makeshift gas stations. Though not on the front lines, the soldiers face risks from missile attacks or snipers, 2nd Lt. Kennedy said.
BEFORE DEPARTING, the reservists lined up in formation for a brief ceremony. Capt. Mohandas Martin, the company commander, promised relatives and friends that the soldiers would take care of one another.
"Now it's time for us to put our game face on," Capt. Martin said. "We're going to do what we've got to do, and then we're going to come home."
Capt. Martin is a history and English teacher at Southgate Christian School. He's also the assistant pastor at Christian City of Praise, a small church that meets at Glenn Hills High School.
Among those seeing him off Sunday was Kimberly Miller, 17, who is in his 11th-grade history class and attends the church.
She swelled up in tears as she hugged him. Kimberly said she didn't like Capt. Martin as a teacher at first because she thought his class was too hard. Later, they clicked and he led her to God, she said.
"It hurts," she said. "He's like a brother, and it's hard to see somebody that you love just go."
Capt. Martin met with his parishioners Wednesday night, leading a Bible study that covered some of the apostle Paul's militaristic imagery. The captain talked about spiritual warfare, standing firm in the armor of God, holding one's position against evil and conquering Satan.
"I think everybody here knows what I'm going through," Capt. Martin said. "But Paul reminds us, be strong in the Lord. It's like Paul wrote this for me."
Many members of the 319th have strong religious convictions. They plan to hold Bible studies when they reach their destination point.
A Muslim member, Spc. Ronald Reaves, 23, wears his kufi head covering while in uniform. He said he doesn't feel any connection with those pitted against the United States. Islam is about peace, he said.
"The line is drawn. What they're doing is wrong," Spc. Reaves said. "I'm doing what my president is calling me to do. They're on one side, and I'm on another. And I plan on coming home."
Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.
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