Army reservist says unit not ready for fall deployment

[unhappycamper]

Army reservist says unit not ready for fall deployment
By Kristen Schorsch, Tribune reporter
September 1, 2010

A Chicago sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve bypassed the chain of command and asked two Illinois lawmakers to intervene when he thought his unit, set to deploy to Afghanistan this fall, was woefully unprepared.

Alejandro Villatoro, 28, is one of about 160 soldiers from across the Midwest in the 656th Transportation Company, based in Hobart, Ind. He said he didn't want his unit to be unprepared like his was in 2003.

In Kuwait, Villatoro said, his unit conducted missions with trucks used in the Korean War and trained using Vietnam tactics, like digging foxholes. When his unit invaded Iraq, some soldiers did so with scant bullets.

"This is an example of what a commander does, where they put the mission first before the safety," said Villatoro, of Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. "My concern is I want to put safety first to make sure that our soldiers are properly trained before we take on a mission."

Villatoro contacted the offices of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez. Staff members from each office said they attended a joint meeting in August with an Army Reserve official about investigating Villatoro's concerns.