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Guard and Reserve role in Iraq raises debate on older soldiers ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) � The National Guard and Reserves will soon account for nearly half of the 140,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, kindling debate about whether older part-timers are best suited to the war zone. Some veterans argue that the younger, active duty soldier is in better physical condition, more able to withstand the pace of an extended combat tour. These 18- to 21-year-olds are also often undistracted by such things as wives, children, mortgages and careers. But others maintain that with age comes maturity and greater calm. And almost half the Guard members and Reservists have plenty of experience under fire, themselves active duty veterans. In New York, which already sent 2,500 Guard and Reserve soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan and has hundreds more mobilized, Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette has lobbied the military to keep them at home where they can protect land and sea borders from terrorists. �Don�t put people there who can�t roll, can�t lie, can�t jump as well as people 18, 20, 19 years old,� said Lafayette, who served in the Army and National Guard. �That�s the perfect soldier: well-trained, that age, without something at the back of your mind � what�s happening to your job, what�s happening to your wife, what�s happening to your kids.� The 73-year-old Queens Democrat suggests using active infantries from Korea, Germany and elsewhere to fill combat assignments, with Guard members and Reserves filling the gaps. Sending soldiers in their 50s to Iraq is unacceptable, he said. National Guard and Reserve troops will comprise 42 percent or 43 percent of the force in Iraq later this year, defense officials have told Congress. That compares with a 39 percent share currently and 25 percent last year. With the shifting deployments comes a change in who are among the some 900 American troops dead and the 5,000 wounded in action since last year�s invasion. In June, half the U.S. military deaths � 21 of 42 � were members of the National Guard or Reserve. In May, the breakdown was 22 out of 80 deaths, and in April it was 17 of 136. At 59, Staff Sgt. William D. Chaney of the Illinois Army National Guard became the oldest Iraq casualty. The Pentagon said he died in May from surgical complications from a non-combat condition he developed in the war zone. The average age in the Army National Guard is 32, and 46 percent have active duty experience, according to the National Guard Bureau. Command Sgt. Maj. Dick Fearnside said the age dropped from 41 over the past seven years as Guard units got busier and older soldiers finished their commitments. �I think in some areas, maturity and experience can make up for youth and energy,� said the 49-year-old Fearnside, top enlisted man for the National Guard�s 42nd Infantry Division that will send 4,300 troops to Iraq later this year. He recently returned from an advance visit. Fearnside, however, said age is an issue with stamina, especially in nonstop operations during a year�s assignment to Iraq. �The longer (it) goes, I think it gets harder and harder for the older soldiers,� he said. New York has more than 21,000 Guard and militia members, with about 5,000 now on active duty, including 1,500 in Iraq. Another 1,200 recently mobilized New York members of the 42nd are at Fort Drum training for Iraq. Soldiers can overcome some of the challenges by taking care of themselves and staying fit. The 42nd soldiers were tested in the first 25 days of predeployment training and broken into ability groups, �gradually ramping them up to the same level of fitness,� Fearnside said. If physical issues came up in the first 25 days, soldiers can be relieved from active duty. After that, they may be sent to schools for training in specialized areas such as computer technology, he said. The 42nd Infantry is also being trained in live-fire convoy exercises and identifying and responding to roadside bombs, a frequent cause of death for U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The state also has more than 9,000 soldiers in Army Reserve units, with about 900 from the 77th Regional Readiness Command now on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last month, as 3,000 soldiers from the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment in east Tennessee were preparing to deploy, Lt. Col. Wayne Honeycutt said older soldiers aren�t as fit, but they are more seasoned. �They�re not as apt to get excited as a young person when things get exciting,� said Honeycutt, who was a sailor in Vietnam. Sgt. Andrew Ciepiela, 31, served in the first Gulf War when he was just 18. Now a member of New York�s 42nd Infantry guard unit, he was calm as he left for training, despite lingering concerns about custody of his 5-year-old son. �I feel fine,� he said. �I�m not nervous about going over.� Add a comment  |
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