Eight members of 115th return from Iraq

FLORENCE - Specialist Omar Sharif admits he and specialist Brandon Stanfield never really thought they would get a chance to be a part of the war on terrorism when they put their names on a volunteer list to be deployed to Iraq.

"We were talking about it one day at drill. There is always an option to volunteer. We just thought we would put our names on the list and that would be that," said Sharif, 22, of Florence.

"We never really thought we would get called."

Not only were they called, but so were six other A Company members of the Army National Guard's 115th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, headquartered in Florence.

"We had gone on a two-week drill, and when we came back, we were called in and told that we were going to be deployed to Iraq with a signal battalion from Jacksonville (Fla.)," Sharif said.

"I told them to be careful what they wish for," said Sgt. 1st Class Robbie Tripplet, of the 115's A Company.

Stanfield said the decision to volunteer wasn't a difficult one.

"Almost everyone else in the unit had been in combat, and I was wanting to go also," he said.

In late October 2008, Sharif, Stanfield and specialists Andrew Woods, Michael Hooper, William Engle, Mitchell Miller and Jamey Parrish, along with Sgts. Max Holt and Phyllis Weber, headed for Fort Bliss, Texas. They trained with members of the 146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, of Jacksonville, before heading to the Middle East at the end of November.

Weber has now transferred to a guard unit in Arizona.

"I don't have any regrets for going," said Woods, of Waterloo, who has been in the guard for nearly four years after joining at 17. "I thought it was something I should do. I figured it was the best thing I could do. It helped make me a better person."

Most of the group went to Camp Victory in Baghdad. Others were scattered at different locations in the country.

Miller, 22, was stationed at operation post Cop Shocker, which was on the Iran-Iraq border.

"I saw the time in Iraq running out, and I wanted to go and be a part of it and be a war veteran," said Miller, of Florence. "I really grew stronger as person and matured a lot."

Hooper, a fiber optics specialist, said he believes he saw almost all of Iraq.

"I spent a lot of time traveling around to different cities and different communications sites working on fiber optic cable," Hooper said. "I got a good view of Iraq."

The year in Iraq was the second for Holt, 44, of Haleyville, who was deployed with the entire 115th in 2004.

"If my (unit) guys were going, I was going with them," Holt said. "I had to go and take care of them."

Being a veteran, Holt said he was often asked by other soldiers what to expect.

"This was a lot different than the first time. We didn't get shot at as much or mortared as much as in 2004," he said with a laugh.

Engle, 39, of Florence, said he was surprised when he got to Iraq.

"I thought it would be worse than it was, but the conditions are changing so fast that it's making it better for soldiers," said Engle, who has been in the guard for two years. "We were mentally prepared for the worst."

"One of my buddies was volunteered and I couldn't let him go off without me," Parrish said. "And I really didn't have any idea what it would be like in Iraq. I don't regret going at all. I'm not ready to go back, but it wasn't a bad experience by no means."

Holt said he was proud of the way the unit performed.

"The guys really did well," he said. "They showed a great work ethic and performed their jobs. I was impressed with each one."

Tripplet said the experience they had is something they'll keep for the rest of their lives.

"You have to admire them for volunteering to go, being so young and inexperienced, and then going with a group they didn't really know well at all," he said. "But they did the job they were trained for. They went over and came back, and they're better people for it."

Each member said the experience is one that affected his life in a positive way.

"I brought back an appreciation for our country," Engle said.

"It really opened my eyes to what we have here at home," Miller added. "I saw children who were forced to work in factories that made improvised explosive devices with arms blown off. We would give them water and their parents would take it away and drink it themselves and not give the children anything.

"It's going to make me a better father to my son and daughter."

"You couldn't take a class anywhere and get a better lesson that would humble you more than we did. You don't realize what you have until you see what others don't have," Woods said.

"It was an experience that none of us will ever forget," Stanfield added. "We went together and came home together. That's all that matters," Woods said.

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com.