NYC-WTC_000230600

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

-THE nation AL GUARD

In Aftermath of War at Home, Soldiers Prepare to Face It Abroad Conlinued From Page Bl IS

zero, where Uiey assisied rte wound­ ed, retrieved Sody partv trom the

I streets and began setting np the se­ curity pcrmcter-bchliid (irefighicra -RIO trylrig’.,eAt^l'the rearing

’’’■Last Tuesday evening «e had

Kaatms&s I’SiW iroops mobilized In the New ybrh City area." he said. '‘1116 num­ ber has reached 5,(Wt), and we're currently meeting all our mission requirements Barring eny changes After a week of continuous work at ground zero, . ger to do whatever our president and Congress deem necessary to ensure the security of our nation." When another soldier. Sgt Dennis 5 I ISfc cotottti said. “The whole area ot In mission, wc' rt prepared to sustain ^anlHfp^'Was fust deserted, and It Chevalier, was standing guard on JBp j.oStfigtf with three inches of that level ot deploymc^it as long as governor tells us our presence is New York soldiers West Street yesterday, he was ap­ ®h;po*dcr.;in.l smoke. We didn't proached by a civJir^n and ashed, i»e ea^fi^plfaters, and my ihrtu! pessary.” Mr Sandman said ibe missions to wait for Chapter 2. "Are you going lo get those guys?" late Included monltonng the air br Sergeant chevalier turned re­ '.bemical or biological contaminants, . plied. "1 hope so." jjj. ■n eJety'dlretttan were terrifying ''U'e gel a lot oJ people saying that ihuttting federal'jAvesLJgators/lh'

g0! btovrinlovRr trees, all fac­ nllltary trucks, providing bulk fuel ials and dIstrtfrating them to doctors ID us/‘ Sergeant Chevalier sald|| ervlce to rescue, vehicles and con- al the scene. Others are peculiar, like Colonel Sleek sent his infantry sol- trucUon equLpme^t and providing emptying mailbcaes tn the blocks dlers home Sunday night for a freak, ulk potable water aervice to the (Ire around the Impact area and deliver­ and they «tDOd In a rormatlon ^ertmeniaxHi the rubble plie. The ing the outbound moll to the Postal Lexington Avenue armory, the|iame ^helplessly, wondering luanj's dutie^ have-'als® included service, '‘ft's a varied and wide ar- Hing might fall next The , ray," Mr. Sandman said. building where thousands of grlcy ing 'affJe control'and- msintaining die^ family members had garhered to aibd.^-T electricity generators. l.Like all tlatlonnl Guard units. T'^Capt. Kevin Reilly, the 101 si Caval- ^me-mlsslor«'are narrow, JlJie . these soldiers could also be mobl- give DNA samples and review lists of idcnillied bodies II i C 5o ’ ry's assistant cpt’ratlons officer, said alberin^ i;000'dosca ot tetanus Ilaed federally, to fight, and yester­ even vhat was missing had been lots from Veterans Affairs bospi- day the Guard's feelings about war The First of the 69th's nussiofis icrrtlying. were clear as they worked near the were complele, tor now. Like Presi­

s V^Thero arn'f no desks, there aln'l smoldering piles. dent Bush, the colonel was looking fie computers, there ain’t no concrete "Our troops were eager to answer ahead slabs or copper pipes.” he said. "Ev­ the govetnot's call to support the "1 told them f was proud of what erything is Just (his fine cremation people of New York in the wake of . they had done and that I hoped that , asK" this horrlllc tragedy.'' said Ma). Gen. we would gel a cal! to war," he said. But as bad as the scenes were at Thomas Maguire. New York's Guard "I know we have a score to settle.” ■bt outset, they only got worse. commander. "They are likew.se ea- [nside the artitory, 300 Jnfantry- Col Geoffrey J Slack, com- jnen cheered. ^^'der of the First of the 69tb, $ald a Q H member of his infantry batraJfOn, Gerard Baptiste, who was a also a N«w York City firefighter, was still missing in the piles. Cofonel Slack 3 H said hfr also learned, a few days into 1^ the rescue effort, that another s<U- dier had a brother who was lost as KJ well. ■ "I asked him,'Vhy didn't you tell -anyone,”' the colonel said yester­ s day. "He told me, 'Sir, because I 2 think maybe I can find hira.' " Since the first few hundred sof- ' diers arrived, many thousand more O!> o' ‘‘ti6ve been assigned to missions sup- ■’fairting the rescue effort Scott O. o' I OI ' Shndman, s spokesman for the stale Division of Military and Naval Af- '■fiilrs. said yesterday that the mobiti- '’tlitlon had jusi a plaieau. g co Ki;

Cn to' o'

NYC-WTC_000230600