Farmington National Guard unit among those being mobilized for Iraq

Nearly a month after they were placed on alert, members of the Missouri Army National Guard’s 1140th Engineer Battalion were notified they will be mobilized Jan. 3 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

The combat engineer battalion’s headquarters is in Cape Girardeau but has units throughout Southeast Missouri. Among those notified their units are being activated are the more than 100 members of Company A, which works out of armories in Farmington and Fredericktown. The other armories of the 1140th are located in Perryville, Jackson, Sikeston, Charleston, Portageville and Caruthersville.

According to the announcement from the Office of the Missouri Adjutant General in Jefferson City, the soldiers will report to their local armories Jan. 3 and be transported to Fort Riley, Kan., for training prior to overseas deployment. They have been told they could be on active duty in support of regular U.S. Army units for as much as 18 months.

Once the training and other preparations have been completed at Fort Riley, the battalion will be deployed to a still unannounced location overseas. Sources have said the Missouri soldiers could go to Iraq, Afghanistan or possibly be assigned to duty in Germany.

In preparation for mobilization, the more than 400 soldiers of the 1140th are gathering for three days this weekend at their home National Guard armories. A member of Company A said the unit will assemble at 7:30 Friday morning for three full days of drill.

This would normally be the weekend for the monthly two-day drill by units of the 1140th, but because of “current circumstances” and because “there is a lot of information to get out,” the soldiers will have a three-day drill.

At the same time the National Guard units were receiving notification of their mobilization, several Reserve units in Missouri were given their mobilization orders. Some of those units are being activated within the next two weeks.

The 1140th Engineer Battalion, which is commanded by Lt. Col. John Akers, can trace its history back to 1898 when it was organized as the 6th Infantry. The unit has seen many changes and in 1968 it was reorganized again causing the entire unit to have to be retrained as engineers.

“We once again express our pride and gratitude to these outstanding Missourians who are being called to active duty,” said Gov. Bob Holden. “They are in our thoughts and prayers and we look forward to their safe return.”

Several Guard and Reserve units from Missouri have served and are serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The mobilization alert issued last month affected about 1,900 members of the Missouri Guard and another 411 were on active duty in connection with the conflicts in the Middle East.

Capt. James C. Wilson commands Company A which has components based in the armories at Farmington and Fredericktown. After the mobilization alert was issued last month, Wilson said it would be “business as usual” until the actual mobilization orders were received. It is no longer business as usual for the units.

First Sergeant Donal Firebaugh said last month the unit is always working to be in a state of readiness and he believes the men of Company A are ready to answer the call. The first sergeant did not talk about his personal situation, but did say that if the unit is mobilized he will be ready to go.

“That’s why we wear these uniforms,” Firebaugh said in a sincere tone. “If they need us it is our job to go.”

While it is difficult for those who have jobs and families and might be going to school, Firebaugh said, when they joined the National Guard they knew something like this was a possibility. Nobody promised it would only be one weekend a month and two weeks annual training.

The battalion was placed on alert Nov. 6 to give members time to get their personal affairs in order.