Kirby Mary Mullenberg became Mrs. Curtis Zimmerman a scant two weeks ago. Now her husband is leaving for war in Iraq.
"At first I was thinking that his deployment would only be about three months, like in the Air Force," said Kirby Zimmerman, 20, who is in the Kansas University Air Force ROTC. "But when I found out it could even be a year, it made it a little harder."
Kansas Army National Guard Spc. Curtis Zimmerman, 25, has lived in Lawrence his whole life. Now, with 500 fellow guardsmen from the Guard's 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry unit, he is headed for overseas duty near Baghdad.
"We've just got to be there to provide stability," said Zimmerman, a 1998 Lawrence High School graduate.
The deployment was announced Monday. There will be a public goodbye ceremony at 1 p.m. today in Manhattan at Kansas State University's Bramlage Coliseum. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will be among those bidding the troops farewell.
The battalion's 120-member Company A is based in Lawrence. Battalion headquarters are in Kansas City, Kan., with another company based in Wichita. About half of the Lawrence-based unit, including Zimmerman, spent time stationed in Germany in 2002, Maj. Roger Aeschliman said.
The unit will operate the Joint Visitors Bureau near Baghdad and provide security for high-level visitors entering Iraq. The 111th Engineer Battalion of the Texas Army National Guard currently runs the bureau, Aeschliman said. That Texas unit has experienced no casualties so far, according to the Army National Guard's Web site.
When the Kansas battalion takes over, it will be the second from the state to operate the bureau after the 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery of the Kansas Army National Guard unit. Spc. Don A. Clary, 21, Troy, and Staff Sgt. Clinton L. Wisdom, 39, Atchison, died Nov. 8 near Baghdad when they used their vehicle to stop a car - that exploded - from reaching a military official, according to the Kansas adjutant general's department.
"It's a place where people want you dead, but that's why we train so hard," said Spc. George Coleman, originally from Enid, Okla., and an employee of Best Buy in Lawrence.
Volunteers' hearts
Company A's members spent the past week packing and training for their Mideast mission. Tuesday they loaded gear at the Lawrence armory. By Wednesday they were at Fort Riley, training with weapons.
Morale was high among the soldiers.
"We're going to be focused on getting the job done so we can get home to our families," Sgt. Joseph Kean, a 1990 LHS graduate, said Tuesday while preparing his gear.
"I joined the National Guard for college money- to be honest - and it turned into something I absolutely loved," said Sgt. Brent Rounds, a former KU student from Rochester, Minn. "Where else can you go to do something like this? I volunteered because I thought it was the right thing to do."
"What is that saying? 'There's nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer,'" said Sgt. Kristopher McDonald, a 1994 LHS graduate.
Kean, who works for Laird-Noller in Topeka, likened Iraq's situation to the beginnings of American independence.
"Everybody's got to be free, so we've got to be there helping them," Kean said. "When somebody has the ability to do something, they have the responsibility to do something,"
"The Iraqis want to be free; they just don't have the means to do it," Coleman said.
Family, fears
Melanie Allerheiligen, of Topeka, thinks of the battalion as a family.
"They train together, so they become really close," said Allerheiligen, wife of Sgt. Ryan Allerheiligen.
But some families are newer than others.
Kirby Zimmerman grew up in Montana and, as a KU senior, studies atmospheric science. She's also on track to become a commissioned reserve officer in KU's Air Force ROTC program.
Kirby Zimmerman said her military background has helped her prepare for the separation.
"Just with me being in the Air Force ROTC, it made it a lot easier for the both of us to accept his deployment. We both understand," she said. "You've got to do what you've got to do. I'll support him. I am a little worried about his safety."
Curtis Zimmerman, meanwhile, hopes the deployment can help Iraq become more stable and democratic.
"If we finish the job, it will give the Iraqis and people of other countries an idea of what is possible with freedom," he said.
Comments
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majic12 (anonymous) says…
These good people are being placed in harm's way for the sole purpose of enriching Halliburton and the other corporate tentacles of the Bush Crime Family. It is infuriating.
jaystork (anonymous) says…
Thank you, Guardsmen, for fighting for our freedom.
Come back safely. You are in our prayers.
poolside (anonymous) says…
Our prayers are with you, and all of those lives you will touch overseas, and with all the lives you have already touched here. Safe trip to all! Come home soon.
spikey_mcmarbles (anonymous) says…
Thank you Guardsmen. Be safe and come home soon.
*Salutes*
mefirst (anonymous) says…
Jaystork... We've been given so many reasons for why they're fighting...are they fighting for our freedom or Iraqi freedom? I thought our original intent for going over there was Saddam's nonexistent WMDs...I'm confused. I guess the reasons change depending on the way the wind blows.
trueninetiesgirl (anonymous) says…
as a mother of a soldier ,that has been on stand by for a while. i feel for the familys that are being split up. may all the soldier have a safe trip and come all home safe......
memoirs_of_a_sleepwalker (anonymous) says…
Wake up, Arminius, wake up . . . your president has told us conflicting reasons from the start; it's hard to believe that people, regardless of their political party, still make excuses and have their heads in the sand . . . thus the problem continues.
At any rate, regardless of the reason, my thoughts are with those people employed to Iraq. Come home safely.
b_asinbeer (anonymous) says…
Arminius--
So, tell me, why are we sending our troops to Iraq? The original reason was that Iraq was somehow related to 9/11 through al Qaeda and that they perhaps had WMDs. Please bear in mind that the reason Bush started this war was retaliation for 9/11. I have no problems with sending our troops to Afghanistan because the Taliban was harboring bin Laden.
Now, if the person who attacks and kills almost 3000 of our fellow citizens lives in Afghanistan, what the heck are we doing in Iraq when he has not been captured yet? Sure the Taliban is no longer officially in power, but why is bin Laden not captured for the heinous murder of 3000 innocent lives? It is very sad to see that the war focus has shifted from our original intent of capturing the leader of the foremost terrorist group in the world, to trying to get the most profit for Haliburton.
I just think it is sad to see that there are more of our troops in Iraq...a place where bin Laden is nowhere near (how about a distance of few thousand miles?). Remember it is Bush who repeated that Saddam was linked with al Qaeda and bin Laden. He repeated that numerous times before attacking Iraq as a reason for going there. There is not one piece of evidence that has been shown that links Saddam to al Qaeda.
It's just sad for our troops that are in Iraq that our focus has shifted from capturing bin Laden to protecting oil fields in Iraq. I'm not against our troops, I just wish they were not misdirected by our current president.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Clinton became POTUS because he was instrumental in covering the transport of cocaine during the Iran/Contra misadventure. The blow was coming in through Mena, AR, and Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. The Clintons and the Bushes are comparable to the Lucchese and Genovese families: they have their little spats, but at the end of the day they eat their gnocchi from the same table. The Democraps and the Republiscum are the left and right wings of a single party, a party whose constituents are the 36,000 or so Americans worth more than $10,000,000 each and any foreign interest with the money and connections to buy in.
The London Review of Books may be a challenge for those of you whose reading material consists of Chick tracts and White House press releases, but I offer this regarding who gains from this idiotic war:
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n13/print/ha...
majic12 (anonymous) says…
And what if it was Halliburton mercenaries that perpetrated 911? What then?
www.madcowprod.com
majic12 (anonymous) says…
"Al Qaeda" is Arabic for "The Carlyle Group."
b_asinbeer (anonymous) says…
Arminius--
"You misstated the reasons for removing Saddam from power. It was not in retaliation for 9/11." Exactly, finally we agree on something...but that was not what Bush told us.
Please stop telling me the five reasons we went to war...I don't care what some author thought why we went to war. Those were not the reasons Bush gave in going to Iraq (who do you listen to? Your President or Mr. Ferguson?). Please stop distorting the facts and look at what he told the American public. Speak with commons sense, not what others tell you.
I don't care if a liberal or a conservative wrote a book on it. I'm commenting as a citizen of this country and what we were told by the Bush administration over and over on a daily basis. Are you telling me that Bush did not make claims that Saddam was linked to al Qaeda when? He HAS made that claim. Are you telling me that my own hearing has deceived me?
You still have not answered my question of why are we NOT in Afganistan? The man who plotted and killed people in numerous attack against the US in America, Africa, USS Cole, etc. is still free! Is it just me or does anybody else not see something wrong with this picture? Why do we have so many troops in Iraq when bin Laden is in Afghanistan free (or wherever he is)? Who do you think is now a bigger threat to the US? A known terrorist who has killed thousands and may kill more if not captured (which I pray is not the case), or someone who now sits in jail?
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Osama died in December, 2001.
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/osa...
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Here's a .pdf of the enlistment form:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/IMA...
Those of you who support this war should print it out, fill it out, and turn it in. Those of you who do not support this war should print it out to offer to the yellow elephants and chicken-hawks.
Here's hoping the troops get home soon, and safely. We have a country to save, right here.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
I just want to say thank you to these good people who are serving in uniform and their families who are sending them! thank you for going where I could not and doing what I could not. thanks and godspeed. fine guardsmen.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
Arminius, you suppose Majic12's problem is that his foil hat has a leak because it was provided by the bush crime family through halliburton? I think he or she is receiving too many rays from the planet of darkness!
three reasons why we invaded Iraq, two of which GWB has referred to, and one you Arminius cited slightly.
first, for years before the second gulf war Saddam was routinely violating the peace treaty which ended the first gulf war of '91, by shooting at american and british planes enforcing the "no fly zone." do these wackonut liberals even know Saddam was violating a treaty?
second, you briefly refer to this: Saddam was well documented to have given 20-35 thousand dollars to each family of a homicide bomber who came from palestinian areas into Israel and killed innocent israelis. overthrowing him stopped this terror bounty. however note that Cindy Shewolf hangs out with people who seem to think violence against israelis is just fine; more evidence of the antisemitic left.
third, Saddam killed more Muslims than any other person in history. guess these hundreds of thousands dead, besides the hundreds of thousands terrorized for political rule in Iraq do not matter?
You're doing a great job arminius!
christie (anonymous) says…
I hope all of them get home safely, perhaps if Arminius were to join up, they'd have a better chance. How about it Arminius, you're so sure about all of this go join up, I'll drive you there myself. Go ahead.... put your courage where your mouth is. Join up. I dare ya.
jaystork, you too... go ahead.
No?? Figured as much.
jaystork (anonymous) says…
Christie,
My husband has been deployed to the Middle East through the Air Force. I am PROUD of him and all servicemen.
Perhaps YOU could put some of that courage in your mouth in order to mind what you say to others you don't know.
thank you servicemen!
mefirst (anonymous) says…
Agrees with Christie. All you gungho armchair warriors...what're ya waiting on? Sign up and get to fighting this war you're touting.
War_no_more (anonymous) says…
The Bush Doctrine is clearly illegal. International law recognizes the right of nations to defend themselves through preemption in the face of an imminent threat. There was no such threat here--nor did the Bush administration even really claim that there was. Instead, they asserted the right of preemption because they could--based on the premise that Iraq might someday, somehow become a threat. Even Perle, one of Rummy's deputies at the Pentagon, conceded the war was illegal.
Think about it for a minute. What happens if the Bush Doctrine becomes acceptable conduct for nation states? After all, if it's OK for us, then it has to be OK for others too. By Bush standards, it would be acceptable for North Korea to invade South Korea. China to invade Taiwan. Pakistan could nuke India or vice versa. And on and on. It's destabilizing and would probably be a bigger threat to our national interests and security than terrorism.
The fact is that the Bush doctrine is a poorly conceived policy propounded by those who think that the U.S., as the only remaining superpower, can just do whatever it pleases and nobody can do a darn thing about it. All it takes is just one misstep and we find ourselves stuck in Iraq, bleeding our nation figuratively and literally, expanding terrorism and weakening our national security, providing incentive to America's enemies, and squandering the resources needed to respond to a real threat if one arises.
And anyone think this is a good thing?
"No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."
James Madison,4th U.S. President
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
James Madison
majic12 (anonymous) says…
I did, quite vigorously, as well as the attack on the former Yugoslavia, and the hideous slaughter in Waco, Texas. Clinton is just another shill for BushCo. His despicable wife has voted in favor of everything the present regime demands when it comes to war and the destruction of our Constitutional Republic.
When they moved up to New York, they cancelled Halloween and Thanksgiving in DC because the Witch was flying North and taking the Turkey with her.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Here's a choice selection of comments from some other critics of Clinton's illegal and unconstitutional war efforts:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/rep...
majic12 (anonymous) says…
This is my favorite:
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." --Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)
majic12 (anonymous) says…
So, Arminius, how come you aren't in Iraq? Time pass you by? Too busy, like Dick Cheney was when he got his FIVE draft deferments during the Vietnam debacle?
majic12 (anonymous) says…
The KLA (Albanian) supplies heroin to us. The Moslems we were "protecting" in Bosnia WERE mujaheddin. You are totally evading the issue of collusion between the BushCo enterprise and the Clinton Crime Family.
Clinton is a straw man. The "two party system" is a complete fraud. Perot found out the hard way what happens when you challenge it.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Why aren't you there?
Too old, too feeble in mind and/or body? What is it? You just want to fill up your SUV with the blood of our troops, is that it?
majic12 (anonymous) says…
In addition, I've already addressed your retarded notion that the Clintons and the Bushes have some differences in agenda. they do not. Shall we discuss Bonesman Kerry's stalking horse campaign, or the fact that he walked away with over $15,000,000 in unspent campaign funds and left Nader and the Greens to pick up the tab on the OPhio recount?
majic12 (anonymous) says…
I will say that you are not an idiot --- you're EVIL. You are a very conscious agent of an anti-American agenda. And you need to be watched.
hawkeyes (anonymous) says…
majic12:
First of all, are you currently in office? Planning on it? You are critical of everything about our Government. If you are not in office and working to improve what you see fit, your challenges are empty.
Second of all, not everyone wants to rush out and enlist. Also, not everyone is qualified to rush out and enlist. That is what makes our Servicemen brave, strong, and deserving of our gratitude. If it weren't for them, people like you may be chosen to fight.
For or against war, the men and women fighting deserve more than this criticism. They are working hard and losing lives while people back home are complaining. Give them a break and a pat on the back.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
So you are cowardly and WEAK, is that what you're saying? Just sitting around, spouting off about killing innocent Iraqis from the safety of being out of range, and filling up your SUV with the blood of our troops so that Halliburton stock can continue to rise.
You probably haven't given five minutes of critical analysis to the events of 911. You're some uneducated hayseed from Kansas. I'm from Mew York City, and I want revenge.
majic12 (anonymous) says…
Mew Mew Mew... grroowwwrrrr!
Bad cat, dude.
b_asinbeer (anonymous) says…
Arminius--
I will refrain from the name-calling going on here because I refuse to stoop that low. This is an open forum so that opinions can be heard, but name calling is not what this should be about....it should be about the argument at hand. Taking that into account:
What I probably failed to get across is that yes, there are troops in Afghanistan, but why are there signifcantly more troops in Iraq? I just want to hear your opinion on it. Is going after bin Laden for the murder of 3000 innocent lives less important now? If so, why is that? That's the message I'm getting with our troops in Iraq. Yes, I am glad that Saddam is gone, but how would you explain it to families of 9/11 victims that Mr. Bush is concentrating on Iraq, rather than going after the terrorist that actually killed people on American soil?
ps-I will not comment on Clinton, because he did not decide to attack Iraq, the question at hand is why Iraq rather than Afghanistan?
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
WHOA! this is seriously stupid!
while I agree with arminius entirely, I want to say here that I am saddened that an article about so many of our local guardsmen going out to do their duty, wearing the uniform and taking the risk, paying the price, has to elicitthis long string of stupid crap!
find some of Boog's stash take a hit, go to Pot Haze state university Majic12, cool off! do you know how vaccuous you seem and how vain for posting your pathetic billious rantings under such a local article? and, if you're in New york, go back to the new york times, their liberal editorial bias certainly covers their news stories and they are about as reliable as Dan Rather.
Arminius, thanks for speaking up. however, answering majic12 is kinda like what harry truman said: don't wrestle with a pig, because you will get muddy and the pig likes it.
lets just leave the argumentation and honor our good guardsmen! if one dialed up the ljworld via the web from their work in IraQ how about they get some encouragement prayers and support!
thank you.
hawkeyes (anonymous) says…
Majic12: I suppose staying home with my children while my husband is overseas makes me cowardly and weak?
Thank you, bearded_gnome for turning this forum around to what it should be.
memoirs_of_a_sleepwalker (anonymous) says…
Anyone know who Arminius sounds like with his empty repetition?
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
Usama is more likely in Pakistan, in the wild tribal areas. so, we can't just send in the 101st air born. Musharaf is walking a tightrope in pakistan. I correspond every day with some one who is a muslim young person in pakistan. most pakistani's would happily turn over Usama in a minute. but where he is apparently hiding, you cannot just march up there!
b_asinbeer (anonymous) says…
Yes, I agree with you Arminius--the war is fought on two fronts. Who are you to lecture me on common sense? Let's look at your common sense...you say that little troops in Afghanistan are enough--but Osama has yet to be captured. Hmm...if little number of troops are not enough, wouldn't common sense tell you that we need a tad bit more than "a small group of Rangers" to catch him? Plus, you STILL have not answered my question of why we are not devoting more troops to catching a killer of 3000 of our fellow citizens? He was the reason this whole war on terror was started, not Saddam. al Qaeda was the reason, not Saddam. Like I said before, I am glad we got rid of him, but where is Osama, the real killer in the attacks of 9/11?
Second, do not EVER tell me I'm belittling the mission of our troops. I am a US citizen and there's nothing that will make me not stand by our troops and support them. I have a friend in the Kansas National Guard. I am just wondering why our troops are being misdirected to Iraq. That is the only reason why I'm writing in this section of the paper.
memoirs_of_a_sleepwalker (anonymous) says…
Arminius,
Do you have one original thought in your head? Or did Bill O'Reilly ask you to read these books?
Although I admire you for reading, I don't need to cite examples to prove this particular point. (Too much "research," Arminius, tends to reflect major holes in an argument. Think back to Freshman comp.) What part of "conflicting reasons" don't you understand? The war on terror? Lie. Iraqi freedom? Lie. WMD? Lie. Making America safer at home? Lie. etc., etc.(These reasons have been clearly stated by myself and others, on this board and others, from the beginning. But we're "liberal," as you say, and without library cards. We only listen to Dan Rather and Michael Moore. (By the way, how come we fire someone who reports a story--one that hurts nobody--and don't fire your leader who has hurt countless people [of both countries] and their families?) To "cite" an example closer to home, your own administration and party can't even agree why we exactly went to war. Examples? The names are before you.)
By the way, you insinuate that people who don't serve in the miltary are useless? You resort to calling others "idiots" who don't agree with you? You bag on a mother who wants answers to why her son DIED? (But no, O'Reilly will tell you that it's all a fabrication. What page number, Armi-boy?!) And you call yourself "American"? Wow . . . think, Armi-boy, how you locally contribute to a global vision of Americans. Think about how you construct yourself.
And Saddam, according to your leader, was a part of the war on terror, but was NEVER a part of the war on terror. Any first-grader could've seen this. Do NOT insult us; your leader has done so long enough.
Jean1183 (anonymous) says…
Just want to add my "Thanks!" to these fine soldiers for their service.
My son is with the 2/130th and served there earlier. God Bless you all and bring you home safe.