Facebook helps soldiers stay in touch while at war

Recently, the Arkansas National Guard posted 14 new photos of members of the Jonesboro- and Paragould-based units of the 1037th Route Clearance Company, which is preparing for an upcoming mobilization to Afghanistan.

In just the first 24 hours, more than a dozen people posted comments on the photos, which show the soldiers during pre-mobilization training this week at the Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center near Fort Smith.

"The families enjoy getting on Facebook and talking with each other," Kimberly Barrow said. Barrow's husband, Shane, is a member of the 875th, and she serves as Family Assistance Center specialist to help other Guard families through various issues.

Barrow said families who connect on Facebook share ideas for dealing with soldiers being gone and become a virtual support group.

"They become as close as family to me," she said. "I can't explain the bond you form when you go through a deployment together. They are certainly lifelong friends."

Rhonda Quenzer, whose son Tony Taylor previously completed two deployments to Iraq and now will head to Afghanistan, said the Facebook page is an "instant connection to people who care and really understand."

She said such tools have put her mind at ease on days when she had no direct contact with her son.

"I checked my son's MySpace page first thing every morning," she said. "It shows when the last login was, so it was a little easier to get through the day if I could see that he had logged in that day, which meant that he was safe for a little while."

Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs Officer Capt. Chris Heathscott said the Facebook page — first published Sept. 18 — is designed for coverage of the entire Arkansas Guard but will continue to push information on the 1037th as possible.

"This will be dependent on the unit's push of information and photos back home to us for publication," Heathscott said. "Unfortunately, we can't guarantee anything since they will not have a troop solely dedicated to the public affairs mission. Units are not typically authorized public affairs assets unless they are at least brigade level, which is roughly 3,000 troops. The 1037th has assigned this as an additional duty to one of their soldiers though, so as long as their higher headquarters overseas will authorize release we will hopefully receive stuff to publish."

The Jonesboro- and Paragould-based units of the 875th Engineer Battalion have consolidated into the 1037th Route Clearance Company, which is comprised of approximately 200 soldiers, Heathscott said.

The troops began pre-mobilization training early this month with rotational training being conducted at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, the Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center, and at the armory at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. The unit is slated to depart the state on Nov. 10 and will head to its mobilization station in Wisconsin for additional training before deployment in early 2010.

The unit will be honored with a sendoff parade in Jonesboro on Nov. 7 in conjunction with the city's Veterans Day parade. The event is sponsored by the Craighead County Veterans Monument Foundation. A military ball open to the public and a 24-hour vigil outside the Craighead County Courthouse will round out events planned that weekend.

More than 400 members of the 875th Engineer Battalion returned from deployment to Iraq in September 2007, where they spent a year conducting a route clearance and route sanitation mission. The unit successfully cleared more than 1,244 improvised explosive devices during that time, according to the National Guard.

Barrow said she had frequent e-mail and webcam contact with her husband when he was in Iraq, but she's afraid Internet access may be more limited in Afghanistan. She said she'll continue to send care packages regularly to provide him with home-baked goodies and their son's day-care art.

She said the Facebook page is just another way the Arkansas National Guard is helping families through a difficult time, and those updates are much appreciated when she can't have direct contact with her soldier.

"The command have always been awesome in keeping loved ones back home updated," she said.