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National Guard deployment
National Guard soldiers make preparations for overseas deployment
National Guard deployment
National Guard soldiers make preparations for overseas deployment
Sgt. Justin Sonnentag greets his then-9-month-old daughter, Ashlyn, at the Dane County Regional Airport after returning home from deployment. He had been able to come back for her birth, but had to return to Iraq and didn’t get to see her again until his assignment was over.
Sonnentag and Ashlyn, now 2 1/2, share a moment during a send-off dinner and ceremony at Craig High School earlier this month. Sonnentag is preparing for his third deployment since 2003.
JANESVILLE — For a year, Janesville's Alpha Company has been getting ready for deployment.
At home, that's meant packing apartments, setting up automatic bill payments, arranging for power of attorney to be transferred to family members, looking for day care help for the spouse that's left behind …
The list goes on and on.
And then there are the emotional preparations: Moms and dads thinking about being away from their young children for a year, newlyweds saying goodbye to spouses, young men and women finding themselves in the odd position of reassuring their parents about their safety.
And now, with only days to go, the 130 members of Alpha Company are packing suitcases, loading equipment bags and checking new equipment at the Janesville Armory before leaving for Fort Bliss, Texas—and then Iraq.
Officials don't want to give an exact departure date for security reasons, and the company's exact location in the field can't be announced.
But they said members of Alpha Company, which is part of the 132nd Support Battalion in the 32nd Infantry Brigade, will be doing what they're trained to do: Keeping troops supplied with everything from water to munitions.
The entire 32nd Infantry Brigade, which includes nearly 3,500 Wisconsin troops, is deploying to Iraq, the brigade's biggest deployment since World War II.
Members of Alpha Company talked Thursday about their preparations.
Bryan Schneider
Pfc. Schneider, 20, Janesville, will leave behind his wife, April, and their 2-month-old son, Sabastion Scott.
Schneider joined the Army National Guard in 2006, just out of high school.
"I wanted a new start," Schneider said. "And I wanted money for college—I would love to go to college."
He's known for about a year that he would be deployed and has been "adjusting" to it.
"This deployment kind of grew on me, I guess," Schneider said, who will be serving as a truck driver.
Schneider and his company will have access to the Internet, so he'll be able to get photos of his little son.
Schneider spoke with pride about his wife's support for their family.
"She's a very proud army wife, and she makes that known," Schneider said. "She's been with me in everything I've decided to do."
Jessica Torres
Specialist Torres, 20, Janesville, will leave her father and two siblings.
Torres joined when she was 17, right out of high school.
"I wanted to do something different, something worthwhile," Torres said. "And I wanted money for school—I didn't want to put my family into debt.
Her father has been "a little nervous" about her deployment.
"My sister, she just wants me to come back home soon because we're best friends," Torres said.
She knew when she signed up that she probably would be deployed.
"I know I'm in a good unit, and we've got good leadership," said Torres, who will be a truck driver. "I'm not looking forward to the training, but I'm excited about getting on the ground, in county."
Jamie Evans
Specialist Evans, 27, Beloit, will leave his son, Keaton, 5; daughter, CaShya, 1, and wife, Colleen.
Evans is on his second deployment, but this will be his first deployment overseas. He worked on "Operation Jump Start," helping build fences on the Mexican-American border.
Evans works in battalion supply and is going to be a "warehouse guy."
He signed up on St. Patrick's Day 2006—appropriate because he'd be wearing a lot of green in the future.
"I'm actually third-generation army—my grandfather and my father both served," Evans said.
He says he's excited and "ready to serve" but doesn't relish leaving his family behind.
"It never gets easier," Evans said. "When I left for basic, my son he was a little guy, and I'm calling home, and all of a sudden he's talking to me on the phone. This time when I come home, my little girl will be talking a lot better."
When he was in Arizona working on the border fence, his family was able to visit.
"Now, they won't be able to come visit—even though my son is asking all the time if he can come over to visit," Evans said.
Before he leaves, he'll be visiting his son's kindergarten class, and the teacher asked him to come in uniform.
"I know that the first question is going to be, 'Do you get to shoot somebody' and I'm going to be, like, 'No, I'm not going to get to shoot somebody,'" Evans said.
However, he will show them the cool Velcro pockets on his uniform.
Derek Butkiewicz
Specialist Butkiewicz, 26, Milwaukee, will leave his mom, dad, sister, nieces and goddaughter.
Butkiewicz will serve as a truck driver, and this is his first deployment.
"Both of my grandfathers were in World War II," Butkiewicz said. "I wanted to honor and respect their service."
Butkiewicz volunteered to go overseas in the past but was hampered by the amount of dental work he needed on his teeth.
Now, five pulled teeth and seven dental appointments later, he's excited to go.
In the past couple of weeks, he's been busy preparing his mom and sister for his deployment.
"I've been trying to do things with them, to be there for them and show them how much I care about them," Butkiewicz said.
Blair Otterholt
Specialist Otterholt, 19, Tomahawk, will leave his mom and dad, who both served in the Army.
Otterholt will serve as a truck driver.
He wanted money for college.
"I also got a motorcycle with my bonus," Otterholt said with a grin, "a Harley-Davidson."
National Guard Sergeant loves job—but not leaving his kids
Sgt. Justin Sonnentag is preparing for his third military deployment.
The Evansville man said he loves his job as a full-time Wisconsin National Guard member. He's a career guy and usually works at the Janesville Armory, the home of Alpha Company.
That said, he doesn't like the part of his job that involves leaving his wife and two children behind.
Later this month, Sonnentag, 27, and the rest of Alpha Company will be sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, for training before shipping out to Iraq.
The company will be gone for a year or more.
"For my first deployment, I was single and didn't have any kids," Sonnentag said.
That was 2003, and he was gone for 8 months.
For his second deployment in 2006, he was away for 18 months but was able to come home for the birth of his first child, Ashlyn.
Now, he and his wife, Toni, have another child, a 6-month-old son named Tyler.
"It's not easy," Sonnentag said. "But it's what I signed up for."
During his last deployment, Toni said, her mom was able to help.
This time, his parents will be closer.
Still, it's not easy.
"People ask me how I do it," Toni said. "Well, you just get up every morning and do it."