Governor sends off troops to Bosnia

INDIANAPOLIS -- About 800 National Guard members from Indiana and other states who are heading to Bosnia-Herzegovina on peacekeeping duty received a warm sendoff at a ceremony attended by Gov. Joe Kernan and other dignitaries.\nAbout 500 Indiana Guard members were among the group that Kernan characterized as "well-trained and up to the task, no matter what the task."\n"Know that you have the unconditional support of every man, woman and child that calls Indiana home," Kernan, a decorated Navy veteran, told the group Saturday at the Indiana Convention Center.\nThe Indiana-based troops being deployed are from the Indianapolis-based 38th Infantry Division, the Terre Haute-based 38th Support Battalion and the 138th Personnel Services Battalion.\nThey will join the more than 3,000 Indiana-based personnel now serving in the military overseas, said Maj. General George A. Buskirk Jr., commanding general of the Indiana Guard.\nMost will leave sometime in the coming weeks and take on peace-keeping duties in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They are expected to return in about a year.\nMany of the dangers soldiers will face in Bosnia-Herzegovina will be different than those troops in Iraq face.\n"In comparison to the rest of the world, it may be a little bit safer, but there's always danger out there," said Spc. Keith Nelson of Terre Haute. Bosnia still has nearly 1 million undetonated land mines in their ground, Nelson said.\nSaturday's ceremony was bittersweet for departing soldiers and their families, with many expressing an equal mix of pride and anxiety about the months ahead.\nMamie Siegert's son, Sgt. James Sickman, 34, LaPorte, Ind., will head to Bosnia with the 38th Infantry. She expressed a sentiment shared by many who drifted around the Convention Center. "In a way, I'm proud," said Siegert, 53, of Fish Lake, Ind. "But I am also sad. I just hope he comes back safe"