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On Thursday, September 1st, I recieved a call at home that said I had to report to Concord, NH within two hours. Considering it's a seven hour drive to Concord (with traffic), I was five hours late before I even started.
I arrived in Concord at 2300 where I immediately began the already too familiar processing procedure for deployment. By 0100 on Friday, I had my weapon in hand, all my paperwork completed, and my gear packed. We all slept on the floor at the Concord Armory, and by 0700 we were on buses head to Pease Air Force Base. At this point, we had very little information, other than that we were going to Louisana. New Hampshire had volunteered over 300 soldiers to help with the effort. The Unit I was attached to was comprised of mostly the Mountain Company, but had members of 3643rd, the 39th Band, and I believe some Artillery folks as well.
At Pease, we were taken to the hangar which would become our home for the next 24 hours. One Hundred and fifty of us layed our gear on the floor and tried to find a place to sleep. As we didn't know the parameters of our mission, the Combat Veterans among us began to prepare the non-combat troops for the worst. Major General Clarke, the Adjudant General of New Hampshire, (You should recognize his ear from an earlier photo) arrived to speak with us. He promised us we would be well supported, he told us he appreciated our service, and insured us that we would be home in two weeks. Just prior to his speech, I was called to the front of the formation, where Major General Clarke promoted me to Sergeant, and pinned on my rank.
The next day, we boarded planes headed to New Orleans.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
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