Farewells for Kosovo-bound Guardsmen

By Dan Linehan
The Free Press

MANKATO July 16, 2007 11:53 pm

— Chris Linskey cried a little as she said her son Ricky is thinking about his dad’s yearlong deployment to Kosovo as “summer camp.”
Chris and Staff Sgt. Rick Linskey of Hayfield have never been apart for so long during their 18 years together, so mother and son will be coping together.
Meanwhile, Rick’s mother, Helen Linskey, was beaming.
“We’re very proud of him,” she said, adding that she’d be ready to help the children get by, as well.
“I’d be a grandma to all of them if I could.”
There was a mixture of tears and pride as families from across Minnesota said their goodbyes to several dozen soldiers Monday afternoon during a departure ceremony at the National Guard Armory.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty recognized the service of Guardsmen and their families.
He called the troops “brave, strong, courageous, dedicated people,” and told the families: “When they serve, you serve, too.”
Specialist Eric Pearson sat calmly after the ceremony and chatted with his girlfriend of six months, Taylor Cook.
He’ll be a legal specialist, dealing with issues such as power of attorney or helping Guardsmen with legal issues from back home.
He says he’d rather be on a peacekeeping mission to Kosovo than to Iraq.
But none of the soldiers is expecting a calm deployment.
“Hope for the best, expect the worst,” he said.
Mankato is the company headquarters for the 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry, but most of the 400 or so troops bound for Kosovo are from elsewhere in the state. Of the 37 soldiers deploying from the Mankato company, 17 have been to Kosovo on a previous deployment.
Capt. Thomas Zenzen is one of those returnees.
He was the logistics officer when the unit last deployed to Kosovo, in 2004, but said he gets few questions about his time there.
There’s already enough training and classes about Kosovo, a province of Serbia in the Balkans, and other soldiers might have better stories than a logistics officer anyway.
The soldiers will receive imminent-danger pay after the Department of Defense decided against reclassifying the deployment as a non-combat mission.
Battalion Cmdr. Mike Funk, who will lead the battalion in Kosovo, said the classification is a big deal, partly because of the $225 per month combat pay. But the biggest savings comes because the troops’ pay won’t be taxed at all. Funk said total savings depends on rank, but many soldiers will see an extra $1,000 or so a month.
The Pentagon decided to call Kosovo a combat mission, Funk said, because while Kosovo is now a relatively peaceful protectorate of the United Nations, independence could be imminent.
If that happens, the area’s Serb minority could rebel, while a lack of independence would surely displease the ethnic Albanians living there. The mission’s primary purpose is to keep the peace between those two groups, as well as other minorities.
The battalion’s history as First Minnesota began, Funk said, when Gov. Alexander Ramsey in 1861 offered it as the first unit to fight for the Union in the Civil War. A brutal stand at the battle of Gettysburg earned the battalion its motto: “to the last man.”
This will be the second deployment for Capt. Shawn Jensen, of Andover, who went to Iraq in 2003.
There, he did engineering work and experienced mortar attacks every other day or so. Kosovo will be different, but still potentially dangerous as he expects the unit to work against drug and weapons smugglers.
Al Glass, with the VFW, said 450 phone cards have been shipped to the training grounds at Camp Atterbury, Ind.
“So if they don’t call, it’s not my fault,” he joked.
On Wednesday, all 400 soldiers deploying for Kosovo will depart for Indiana. They will train until September, when they’ll go to Germany, then to Kosovo.
While there was grieving among families, the battalion’s commander, chaplain and others gave some advice.
“Soldiers, you’ve heard it before, but I’m gonna say it again: You need to do what’s right,” Cmdr. Funk said. “Remember, you represent the U.S., you represent Minnesota.”

Military families can visit this Web site to ask for help, and anyone can sign up to volunteer their services: www.firstlady.state.mn.us/initiatives_militaryfamily.html

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