Sam Hayes Jr. recently reflected on his six years as Secretary of Agriculture. Now there is another Sam Hayes in the news and for a much different reason.
Major Sam Hayes III, a 1985 graduate of Tyrone Area High School, is currently serving as the operations officer of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry that is headquartered in Lewistown. It is Hayes’ responsibility to get the troops ready for the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
“Our mission is to ensure that United Nations Resolution 1244 isn’t violated,” said Hayes.
With many National Guard and Reserve troops being called to active duty by the Defense Department, this is one of many missions that area troops could have been sent on.
“Our goal is to bring public security and safety and control some of the border issues in the southern portion of Kosovo,” said Hayes. “Our mission will be the same as it was for the 1st Infantry Division soldiers that we are replacing.”
The 28th Division is the most deployed National Guard unit.
“This will be our first rotation to the Balkans,” said Hayes. “We know going in that this is still a dangerous mission. Bosnia has stabilized and Kosovo has quieted down some, but the danger is still there. There are many land mines to contend with, but the hostilities have calmed down some and aren’t the same as in the late 1990’s. Everyday, our soldiers will have to be on top of their game.”
Hayes, in his position as operations officer, has many duties to prepare the soldiers for their assignments.
“We need to make sure our soldiers are ready for deployment,” said Hayes. “There are a number of readiness tasks, this will take a lot of resources and procedures that are common practice for any deployment, active duty, reserve or guard. The soldiers will update their medical records, their finance records and complete wills before deployment. This is an essential part of what happens before troops are sent into harm’s way.”
Hayes noted one priority is to make sure families are taken care of.
“We need to take care of the families that are left behind when we deploy,” said Hayes. “It makes life better for the soldier to know that their family back home is being taken care of. They will be more focused on the mission if their minds are put at ease with what is happening at home.”
With the many deployments from the Defense Department, Hayes is still unsure where the Pennsylvania soldiers will do their mobilization training.
“Forces Command is very busy these days,” said Hayes. “At this point we still aren’t sure where we will do our training. It isn’t like we will jump on a plane here and land in Kosovo. There could be many stops on the way.”
When asked if there was a sense of relief being called for the Kosovo mission or the possibility of joining the deployment to Southwest Asia, Hayes confidently answered, “We will go wherever we are told to go. Right now, our focus is on Kosovo.”
The Tyrone native is confident in the ability of the Pennsylvania National Guard troops that will be heading to the Balkans.
“We feel we have been given an opportunity to do our part,” said Hayes. “The National Guard has become an important piece in the National Defense puzzle. I am very confident that our soldiers will do a great job there. The Army believes in us. The 28th Division is the most deployed National Guard unit in the military.”
A change in the 28th Division’s Mission Essential Task List made the mission in the Balkans a fit for the unit.
“Our brigade has been selected to become a striker brigade,” said Hayes. “The current communications systems in Kosovo are similar to the ones we use and with the shift in the METL, our unit is parallel to the one we are replacing. We have been training for missions like this one. We are more ready for deployment than a lot of other units.
“Our unit offers many skills that active duty units don’t offer,” he continued. “They are trying to establish a police force. We have a lot of state troopers in our unit who are part of an outstanding force who can help give them direction. We offer a lot of skills that fit perfectly with the mission. Our soldiers can and will perform their combat skills, they are physically fit, the morale is high and they are ready to do their part.”
Hayes said when the deployment orders came, the phone at his unit started ringing.
“Since we received the call up, we have had soldiers from outside our unit volunteering to join us,” he said. “That shows the morale is high and our troops are ready for the challenge of this mission.”
The 28th Division has worked hand-in-hand with V Corps in the past, which made the United States European Command have no problems deploying the Pennsylvania National Guard troops.
The deployment is estimated to begin in early March with three months of readiness training and then the troops should be in Kosovo by summer. The normal rotation for peacekeeping troops in Kosovo is six months.
