and
| and | |
| Guard
unit commander reflects on nine months in Iraq June 13, 2008 |
 Lt. Col. Thomas Vickers of Phenix City earlier this year at Logistics Support Area Anaconda, Iraq. | Alabama Army National Guard
unit, 1203rd Engineer Battalion's Headquarters Company and its Commander, Lt.
Col Thomas Vickers are back in the states after nearly nine months in Iraq. Lt. Col. Thomas Vickers, also Central High School assistant principal and football offensive coordinator, said he and his soldiers arrived in Fort McCoy, Wis., the first week in June. Fort McCoy was where about 170 battalion soldiers trained before heading to Logistics Support Area Anaconda near Balad, Iraq. After a few days at McCoy, the soldiers headed to their homebase in Dothan. While
at Anaconda, the 1203rd headquarters company had about 900 additional soldiers
and airmen under its command. Its mission in Iraq included roadside bomb patrols,
helping nearby communities erect security barriers, and working with Iraqi soldiers
to repair bomb-damaged roads. |  1203rd Engineer Battalion soldiers working with their counterparts in the 5th Iraqi Army Engineers to repair bomb craters along a stretch of road in Diyala Province, Iraq. | |||
.................about
the mission in Iraq................... | |||||
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| Marine Maj. Gen. George Flynn, one of the new deputy commanders of US-led ground forces in Iraq, accompanied a 1203rd Engineer Battalion team on its route-clearance mission. In the photo to the right, from left to right, are Sgt 1st Class Derek Handling, of Ottuma, Iowa, a route clearance team member, Flynn and Lt. Col. Thomas Vickers of Phenix City, commander of the 1203rd. |  |