Mayor visits local troops in Texas

Mayor Joe B. McNeal accompanied Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to Fort Hood, Texas, last week, to visit with members of the 183rd Aviation Squadron as it trained for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.

Elements of the 183rd, which fly the AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, have been training for their mission as part of the latest group of the Idaho Army National Guard to be sent to the war zones in the Mideast.

For McNeal and the governor, it was an opportunity to show the troops that the people back home care. McNeal met with eight members of the squadron who come from Mountain Home during the two-day visit to the training facility.

He and the governor also were briefed on the group's mission while training at Fort Hood and watched demonstrations of the training they were undertaking, including force protection operations.

McNeal said he got a call last week from Maj. Gen. Lawrence Lafrenz, the adjutant general of the Idaho National Guard, asking him if he'd like to join the governor in Foot Hood (Kempthorne flew there from Washington, D.C., where he had been involved in a series of meetings). McNeal was the only other elected dignitary that was part of the trip.

"When he called to make the offer, I dropped everything," for the chance to let the troops know their work was appreciated, McNeal said.

McNeal flew from Gowen Field in Boise aboard an Idaho Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane. The flight alone made it a nostalgic trip for the man who served 26 years in the United States Air Force, including serving as a loadmaster on C-130s.

"I thought I was 17 again," the mayor said. "They even let me load the baggage and fly up on the command deck. It reminded me of when I was a young man in the military. Of course, in those days, we did everyting (loading the aircraft) with a slipstick and pencil. Today, they use all electonic stuff."

Arriving that night, McNeal had dinner with some of the top officers at the base, then, along with the governor, spent the next day being briefed and visiting with the troops. McNeal said he got to personally visit with eight of the 12 Guardsmen from Mountain Home who have been tasked for this deployment.

"There also were some troops from Wisconsin there, and I cheered them. When they asked why, I told them about our relationship with Marathon Cheese."

They watched several training demonstrations, including one segment where the Guardsmen conducted a mock search of a house suspected of harboring weapons and explosives for terrorists. "It was very realistic. The people there even spoke Arabic."

McNeal said he felt the training the Guardsmen were receiving "was outstanding. Everyone had high morale and they were very enthusiastic about the training they'd been receiving."

McNeal and the governor also lunched with the troops in the dining hall at Fort Hood.

"I saw them bring out those old metal army trays and I thought we were back in the stone age," when he had served, he said. "Then we got in the serving line and everyone had a choice of steak, shrimp or lobster. It wasn't your old Army K-rations," a phrase he said none of the MRE-era troops had ever heard.

The troops also sang happy birthday to Maj. Gen. Lefrenz, who had accompanied McNeal and the governor on the trip.

"The governor," McNeal added, "was outstanding. He really cares about the troops."

McNeal said that the one thing he noticed most, "was how young all these guys looked." Reminded by one of the instructors that he was that young when he joined the service, McNeal said, "when you're there, you just don't realize how young you are."

McNeal and the governor flew back on "Spud 1" Friday evening.

"It was a great trip, and I wondered why I ever got out," of the service, he said. "It was special to meet with those guys."