Guardsmen leave families, jobs to deploy to Africa
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — About 30 infantry soldiers from the county were among 100 Pennsylvania Army National Guard soldiers who left Friday, Sept. 6 for a yearlong deployment in the African nation of Djibouti.
Soldiers from 28 infantry companies across the state and West Virginia have been attached to the 1-112th Infantry Company of Butler. They shared handshakes, hugs and kisses with family members at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory before they boarded buses to begin their mission.
From the armory in Renfrew, the soldiers were heading to Fort Indiantown Gap in Annville and then to Fort Bliss in Texas for a couple months of theater specific training before deploying to Djibouti, a country in the Horn of Africa that borders the Red Sea, said Lt. Col. Gerald Mothes, the battalion commander.
The company will be attached to the Philadelphia-based 1-111th Infantry Company and will relieve the 2-112nd Infantry Company that is wrapping up a yearlong deployment, Mothes said.
He said the unit has spent a year in pre-mobilization training and will receive post-mobilization training specifically designed for their mission while they are in Texas.
“These are Pennsylvania soldiers. They’re trained. They’re ready for this important mission,” Mothes said. “The Butler community can be very proud of their sons and daughters going overseas.”
He said the mission is to protect American interests.
Djibouti is strategically located at the intersection of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, where Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have launched missile attacks and seized commercial ships as a protest to the Israel-Hammas war.
“You all represent the best the commonwealth and the country have to offer,” Mothes said to the troops in an assembly before the buses arrived.
He thanked their families for their support and sacrifice and encouraged them to keep their home fires strong so the soldiers can carry out their mission.
“Stay strong. Hold the line. Don’t give an inch,” were Mothes’s departing words to the soldiers.
The company is led by Capt. Matthew Lesnett, a state trooper at the Butler barracks, who is assisted by 1st Sgt. David Wellington, also a trooper in Butler.
Lesnett said the soldiers from across the state and have united to form a solid company.
“They’ve banded together as a team. We couldn’t be more proud,” he said.
Wellington said the company will serve as part of a task force of 1,000 soldiers from Pennsylvania, Illinois and Puerto Rico who are serving in Dijbouti.
This overseas deployment will be the third in Wellington’s 25 years in the military and the second for Lesnett in his eight years of service. Both have been troopers for eight years.
Gerard and Pearl Simoris, of Athens came to send off their son, Lucas Simoris, to his second deployment.
Lucas Simoris said he has served five years in the National Guard after eight years of active duty.
“It gets easier once you get an idea of how things work,” Lucas Simoris said.
He said the company has had extra drill work in addition to normal training to help prepare for the mission.
“He’s our second son in the Army. We’ve made this trip a few times,” Gerard Simoris said.
The couple said they are proud of their sons, but watching them leave for an overseas deployment is difficult.
“It doesn’t get any easier saying goodbye,” Pearl Simoris said.
Gerard Simoris said his brothers served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and his father served in Pearl Harbor during World War II.
Joe and Holly Hess of Fairmont, W.Va., their son Collin and daughter-in-law Sarah Hess said they were a little nervous after sending off 26-year-old Tyler Hess, a deputy sheriff in Marion County, W.Va., to his first deployment.
Tyler Hess is studying for a master’s degree in psychology through an online program at Faulkner University in Alabama.
“We’re very proud of who he has become,” Joe Hess said.
He said he’s glad the National Guard makes it possible for his son to be in contact while he is overseas.
“It helps knowing what he’s going through. It’s a big plus,” Joe Hess said.
Jason Heintzel, of Erie, along with his parents, sent his son Zac Heintzel to his first deployment.
Jason Heintzel, who was deployed to Iraq in 2008, said he retired last year from the same unit his son is serving in. His father was drafted into the Army and served in Vietnam.
The deployment will be a good experience for Zac Heintzel, who is studying cyber security at Gannon University, Jason Heintzel said.
He said the talk that Mothes and Lesnett gave to the company and family members before the buses arrived gave him peace of mind.
“They are now a family. They said they will take care of them. It’s peace of mind especially for families going through this for the first time,” Jason Heintzel said.
American Legion Riders from chapters in Harrsiville, Zelienople, Lyndora and Cowansville formed a color guard for the departing troops. State police and some of the riders escorted the buses.
