A rumor of war

“Go for Broke” isn’t just the Commonwealth’s economic policy, it is also the fighting motto of Saipan’s Army reserve unit. That is, specifically, E Company, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry.

The Commonwealth is a small community and everyone knows someone in E Company, so when the winds of war appeared to blow all the way to the islands and the company was put on “alert status” several days ago, everyone took notice.

E company will be doing its annual training shindig this summer, leaving for Hawaii this month, and returning to Saipan the first week of August. That is, in and of itself, not big news.

The big news is the context. The alert status is, of course, related to the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am advised, then, that after E company returns to Saipan after its training, it is subject to getting ordered to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. The Army generally sends units into such theaters for about a year, and it takes a few months on both sides of that year for any given unit to take care of related duties.

Shifting my focus to news reports in Hawaii, I note that “early next year” is being mentioned as a likely time for a deployment if one is, in fact, ordered. On July 3, the Honolulu Advertiser reported that nearly 2,000 Hawaii Army National Guard solders had been put on alert status; they are part of the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade, of which the 100th Battalion is a component. This 29th SIB has quite a footprint, it encompasses units in California, Oregon, Guam, Saipan, and American Samoa, noted the Advertiser.

Saipan’s E company is a rifle company. As for the 100th Battalion, it is a very colorful chapter in WWII history, and was comprised largely of Japanese Hawaiians, some of whom were reportedly drafted from their interment camps. The unit served with distinction in Europe fighting the Germans.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, of Hawaii, served with the 442nd, enlisting when he was 18 and then earning a battlefield commission, seeing action in Italy and France. He left the Army as a captain, and is a Medal of Honor recipient. He spent 20 months in the hospital because of his wounds. I’ve been in awe of Senator Inouye ever since I was a kid.

I’m an ex-Navy guy, so the Army structure can be a bit mysterious to me. To make sure I didn’t botch the terms, I called an official with the 9th Regional Readiness Command in Hawaii, so I think I’ve got a handle on this. My big question was whether the 442nd is a regiment or a division, a question that the Marines who read this column will also be asking. Well…it’s sort of its own deal, having evolved from WWII. Back then, the 442nd was a “Regimental Combat Team.” So, it’s more on the order of a regiment than a division; what’s more, the 442nd is subordinate to the 29th SIB.

An Army reservist typically serves for one weekend a month, plus two weeks a year. This time around, though, such a quiet peacetime tempo might not be in the cards. I’ve got friends in E Company, and I hope that the troops know that the Commonwealth is proud of E Company and proud of the soldiers who serve in it.

(Ed Stephens, Jr. is an economist and columnist for the Saipan Tribune. Ed4Saipan@yahoo.com)