JORDAN PAQUETTE 1 OF 14 VERMONTERS HEADED FOR IRAQ

14 Guardsmen to join Vermont group in Iraq

Published: Wednesday, September 7, 2005

By Terri Hallenbeck
Free Press Staff Writer

COLCHESTER -- Twenty-year-old Pfc. Jordan Paquette of Fairfax acknowledged he was "a little nervous" about his deployment to Iraq on Tuesday. He was surrounded by family members who were even more so.

"I'm scared," said his mother, Lisa Demar of Fairfax, admitting to sleepless nights filled with worry for her oldest son.

A tear ran down the cheek of girlfriend Danielle Rochon of Georgia as she tried to put words to her trepidation.

Paquette's younger brother, Jared Demar, 10, said he was going to miss everything about having his brother around.

"I don't know why you're so sad," their mother joked. "All you did was fight with him at home." Indeed, that was a big part of what he was going to miss, Jared said.

Paquette, a tank driver, was one of 14 Vermont Army National Guard soldiers who left Tuesday morning to join a group of about 400 Vermont Guardsmen who arrived in Iraq in July and have been serving near Ramadi as part of Task Force Saber.

The 1st Battalion 172nd Armored Regiment will fill vacancies in that unit. The new group will ship out to Iraq after spending seven to 10 days training at Fort Drum in upstate New York. They are expected to return in July with the other members of Task Force Saber.

Another 50 Vermont Army National Guard members, who are in a helicopter ambulance unit, will be deployed to Iraq on Friday.

In a ceremony Tuesday morning at the Camp Johnson headquarters of the Vermont National Guard, Adj. Gen. Martha Rainville thanked the 14 Guardsmen for their service, noting the mix of experience and youth standing before her.

This is the first taste of active duty in Iraq for Paquette, who joined the Guard to help pay for college. He doesn't have to look far to find fellow soldiers with more experience.

The group's leader, 1st Lt. Chris Carbone, 27, said he volunteered for this deployment based on his experience in Iraq last year. While acknowledging the car bombs and fighting, his overriding memories were of schools he helped build, working with a Catholic orphanage and training Iraqi soldiers.

"I enjoyed it," he said.

Friday morning, Carbone's father, John, traveled from New Jersey to see his son off. Carbone's mother, a teacher, couldn't make the trip because it was the first day of school back home.

"As a parent, you have to be worried," John Carbone said. "As an American citizen, it's what you have to do."

Chris Carbone said it's hard to predict whether he'll have the same experience this time as last, but he's ready for whatever comes.

On his last tour, regular Internet access helped him keep in touch with family. Father and son communicated daily by instant messaging and e-mail. His father coordinated an e-mail campaign to collect supplies for Iraqis from Catholic churches around the Northeast.

Paquette has heard that he's likely to have e-mail, mail and phone opportunities, but he's been well-drilled not to expect too much. "It's not a priority to call," he said. "The mission is the priority."

Nor is he counting on a definite date to return home, knowing that such things can change.

"Hopefully, within a year," his girlfriend said.
Contact Terri Hallenbeck at 229-9141 or thallenb@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com