Company C of the 844th Engineer Battalion will depart Greeneville by bus this Saturday morning en route to Camp Atterbury, Ind., and, eventually, to Iraq, the unit’s commander announced on Tuesday.

Capt. Eugene Hunton said he had been authorized by his superiors to announce the Oct. 23 departure date and time.

Hunton spoke after a Tuesday afternoon "Mobilization Farewell Ceremony" for the unit in the gymnasium at Hal Henard Elementary School. The ceremony was attended by several hundred friends and family members of Company C soldiers as well as by high-ranking military officers and several government officials.

Greene County Mayor Roger Jones said after the 3:30 p.m. ceremony that he and Greeneville Mayor Darrell Bryan urge local residents to turn out Saturday morning to show support for the departing soldiers.

"We want to show community support for our troops," Jones said. "At 10 a.m. Saturday, we want to line the Bypass (U.S. 11-E) from Walgreens (pharmacy at Justis Drive) to (Interstate 81’s) exit 23 to show these Army reservists that we’re behind them and with them."

Hundreds of local residents lined the same highway in June when Troop G of the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment left Greeneville for active duty.

The U.S. Army Reserve’s 81st Regional Readiness Command in Birmingham, Ala., had announced on Monday that all 575 soldiers of the 844th Engineer Battalion, which includes Company C, were being called to active duty effective today.

But the higher headquarters had not announced when Company C would depart the Army Reserve Center on Barton Ridge Road for additional training at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

Many Officials Present

Among the officials who spoke during the Tuesday afternoon ceremony were U.S. Rep. Bill Jenkins, R-1st, of Hawkins County; state Rep. David Hawk, R-5th, of Greeneville; state Rep. Eddie Yokley, D-11th, of Greene County, and Mayors Jones and Bryan.

Heading the delegation of military leaders was Maj. Gen. Alan Bell, commander of the 81st Regional Readiness Command.

Gen. Bell was joined by Col. Kenneth Webb, commander of the 460th Area Support Group; Lt. Col. Donato M. Dinello, commander of the 844th Engineer Battalion; and Capt. Eugene Hunton, Company C’s commander.

Also speaking during the ceremony in the school’s gymnasium was Lisa Griffith, a Greene County resident who is the leader of Company C’s Family Readiness Group, a support organization comprised largely of the spouses of Company C soldiers.

Jenkins said during his remarks that the Company C ceremony was the second such event he had attended on Tuesday. At 12:30 p.m., he had taken part in a farewell ceremony at the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Gray for the 844th Engineer Battalion’s Company A.

After Tuesday afternoon’s ceremony, the congressman said he believed the audience for the Company C ceremony had been larger than that at the Company A ceremony.

During his remarks, Jenkins recounted what he said had been more than 20 attacks on United States interests around the world since 1979.

When asked after the Tuesday afternoon ceremony what message he wanted the soldiers to take away from the event, Jenkins said he hoped the soldiers would feel appreciated for the sacrifices they are making.

"We want every member of this unit to know that we understand what they’re doing, that we appreciate what they’re doing, that everyone in this country — from the commander-in-chief to the Congress, to their military leadership, to the local civilian leadership and the family members who are here — are in 100 percent support of them."

State Rep. Eddie Yokley told the Company C soldiers that he had once been a member of their unit. "I want to thank you very much for serving our community and our country," he said. "Please know that we will be behind you at the state level also."

Letter From Gov. Bredesen

Yokley read a letter from Gov. Phil Bredesen which said: "I would like to take this opportunity to commend you for your courage and dedication to our nation and to our great state of Tennessee.

"Patriotism suggests many things, but none more clearly than love of country. Your duty and honor to your country is most appreciated by all Americans.

"Company C has served honorably in many overseas deployments, and I am sure you will continue to do so. I bid a heartfelt farewell to all members of the 844th Engineer Battalion on your way to Camp Atterbury prior to deploying to the Middle East.

“May God protect and preserve our men and women in the days to come. You will be in our thoughts and prayers."

Unit Members Thanked

State Rep. David Hawk told the soldiers that they "mean a lot to this community."

He noted that he had grown up on the street where the Army Reserve Center is located. He also pointed out that the Company C soldiers had been "embraced by the community" and adopted by Greeneville schoolchildren.

Hawk also told the soldiers that he wished to thank them for all the community service projects Company C had performed over the years.

"We’ve got a lot of flat land because you helped us with some of the engineering projects," he said.

"From my heart, I say ’Thank you.’ From my heart, I say ’God speed.’ See you back home soon."

‘We Support You Totally’

Greeneville Mayor Bryan told the soldiers in brief remarks that he wished to thank them for their service to the nation, the state and Greeneville.

"On behalf of the Town of Greeneville, thank you for what you are doing for our country, thank you for what you are doing for our state, and thank you for what you are doing for our town," Bryan said.

"We support you totally, and to the families, if there is anything we can do while your soldiers are away, be sure to call. We appreciate what you are doing. Good luck and God bless you."

Greene County Mayor Jones told the Company C soldiers that he had mixed feelings on Tuesday of pride in knowing that all the soldiers were volunteers and of sadness for their families.

"Let me say on behalf of Greene County that we are proud of you," he said, adding that the community’s prayers were with them.

"I challenge you to hold God by the hand," he said. "Hold God by the hand, and you will come back safe."

Maj. Gen. Bell Speaks

Maj. Gen. Bell told those in the audience they need look no further for true heroes than the soldiers who were seated before them. He said that the freedoms all Americans enjoy are protected by soldiers such as those who make up Company C.

"Families, I want to assure you that these soldiers are well trained for the job we’re going to ask them to do," Gen. Bell said. "But it’s important for them to know that you will be well taken care of in their absence.

"I need you to bond together as an 844th family," he said to the family members.

"You’re going to have to do things you haven’t done before. You are as much patriots as these young men and women you see sitting in front of you. So we want to do everything we can to help."

Gen. Bell also asked the Company C soldiers to "take care of each other." He also called on the soldiers to "be good ambassadors for the United States of America" while on active duty in Iraq.

He noted that the 844th soldiers would have an opportunity "to change world opinion" while in Iraq.

"I want you soldiers to understand that you are going to a hostile land to fight terrorists, not (to fight) a country," the general said. "It’s a country you are going to liberate. It’s a country you are going to show what liberty and freedom are all about.

"Understand that you are providing freedom and liberty to people that you will never again see in your life. People on the other side of the Earth have never had the benefits that we have in America.

“You are not going there to just build roads or put up structures. You are going there to show a country what it is like to be free. You’re going to show them what living in a democracy is all about."

He concluded by calling for God’s blessing. "God bless every one of you, and God bless America," Gen. Bell said.

‘A Family Of Fellow Soldiers’

Col. Webb told the audience that he thought of ceremonies such as Tuesday’s as a kind of "family exchange" event. He noted that, in essence, the Company C soldiers will be exchanging their families at home for a family made up of their fellow soldiers.

"I want you all to look left and right and right behind you," he said to the Company C soldiers. "These are the folks who are going to take care of you day-in and day-out, 24 hours a day, for the next 18 months.

"Believe me. You are going to come to depend on yourselves and each other for protection, mutual safety and making sure that you accomplish the mission."

He also called for the Company C soldiers to recite with him the "Soldier’s Creed."

In doing so, the soldiers, who stood in the gymnasium’s bleacher seats facing a semicircle of chairs occupied by dignitaries on the gymnasium floor, recited, in part:

"I will honor my country, the Army, my unit and my fellow soldiers by living the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, no matter what the situation. I will always place the mission first. I will never quit. I will never accept defeat. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am an American soldier."

Unit ‘Will Be Examples’

Lt. Col. Dinello, the battalion commander, told the audience during his remarks that he feels the United States has always been a "militia-democracy."

"It (the country) has been for 229 years and it’s not going to change. These ladies and gentlemen (the Company C soldiers) you see sitting here before you are examples of what a true militia-democracy is in action.

"The future is extremely uncertain. We’re transforming as an engineer force. We’re going to be doing things that are different. We’re going to work in an environment with coalition partners. And we’re going to use every bit of engineering expertise that we have."

Lt. Col. Dinello told the audience that, while in Iraq, the 844th Engineer Battalion’s soldiers would be examples of how citizens of a free society function.

"We’re going to show people what the dream of freedom is all about,” he said. “If you look back when you’re sitting there with your children and grandchildren on a free Afghanistan and a free Iraq . . . you can say, ‘I was part of that.’"

He also told the soldiers that he believes they are more than up to the challenges that lie ahead.

"I’m here to tell you that you are ready," he said. "I’m proud to be standing next to you, and I’m extremely proud to be your battalion commander."

Family Group Leader Speaks

Lisa Griffith, the leader of Company C’s Family Readiness Group, told the audience that she hoped the spouses and other family members of Company C soldiers, as a group, could grow to become a family, just as the Company C soldiers had done.

She conceded that doing so would be a challenge because many of the Company C soldiers have been transferred to the Greeneville unit from other states recently, as preparations were being made for the unit to go on active duty for eventual duty in Iraq.

Mayors Jones and Bryan said during their remarks that families of Company C soldiers from other states were welcome to call on either of them for assistance during the unit’s deployment.

‘We Are American Soldiers’

When his turn to speak came, Capt. Hunton, Company C’s commanding officer, told the audience that "courage is not the absence of fear, but, instead, the ability to deal with it."

As to why the unit was going to Iraq, Capt. Hunton said, "It all boils down to this: "We are American soldiers, and it is our duty."

Story Copyright to Greene County Online