On Independence Day, Nevada National Guard celebrates far from home

They are stationed 7,800 miles from home, far from the picnics and parades that mark the Fourth of July.

On the 240th anniversary of the day the United States declared its independence, 240 citizen-soldiers from Nevada will celebrate while on duty helping like-minded soldiers secure freedom in a region oppressed by terrorism.

And their commanders say they’d rather be there assisting Iraqi and Kurdish forces regain control of their land than fighting Islamic State militants in Nevada or elsewhere in the United States.

“I’ll tell you the No. 1 emotion is pride,” said Col. Vernon L. Scarbrough, commander of the Nevada Army National Guard’s 17th Sustainment Brigade in Kuwait.

“We all volunteered to join the military to serve our country to have the opportunity to go forward here in the Middle East and do our job as we trained back in Nevada to do,” he said.

“It’s very gratifying and makes me especially proud … during the July Fourth holiday.”

In a Skype interview Thursday from Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Scarbrough and Maj. Beau Vinatieri talked about their mission and shared thoughts on what it’s like being there. They spoke of the soldiers’ mood and how the deployment has been progressing since Gov. Brian Sandoval sent them on their way during a ceremony Jan. 4 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay.

It is the largest deployment for the Nevada National Guard since 2010, when the 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry sent about 450 Nevada soldiers to Afghanistan with 280 Guard soldiers from other states.

Vinatieri is the brigade’s personnel officer. Among other things, he’s in charge of accounting for the whereabouts of the unit’s more than 1,000 soldiers. That includes Nevada’s contingent, which travels through Iraq, Jordan, Qatar and surrounding areas to deliver everything from food, water and ammunition to fuel, trucks and tanks for U.S. troops assisting foreign partners in the fight against the Islamic State.

It’s the first overseas deployment for about 70 percent of the Nevada soldiers.

Vinatieri, 35, of Las Vegas, said he tries not to think about holidays when he’s in the Middle East, much like the outlook he took when he deployed in Afghanistan in 2010.

“As long as we can do our job and be in Kuwait, be in Iraq, and we don’t have to be in Nevada fighting ISIS, or anywhere else in the United States, I’ll trade this nine months any day to be here than to be back home,” he said.

THE MISSION

Other than being “hot as hell” — it was 122 degrees Thursday at Camp Arifjan — Vinatieri said “spirits are high” among the troops. The air conditioning works “very well” at the compound where most of them sleep in bunk beds in open bays.

Still, the soldiers feel like they’re melting once outside, clad in camouflage uniforms and battle gear.

“The Fourth of July,” Vinatieri said, is “operation as always. We have a mission. I really don’t track the holidays. Soldiers need supplies on the Fourth of July, on Christmas or any other holiday. So it’s mission first.”

Said Scarbrough: “Everyone back in Nevada would be extremely proud of our accomplishments out here as we do our duty.”

He added that his soldiers are “moving a great amount of cargo, back to the states, receiving it here, moving it forward. Kuwait, Camp Arifjan in particular, is the logistical hub.”

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Vinatieri said many people think Iraq is a third-world country. “But in most of the area, they’re growing. They’re building buildings. They’re working on the roads,” he said. “They are absolutely trying to make their life better. It’s one step at a time.”

Often the Iraqis receive U.S. troops “with open arms,” he said. “The great thing about it is we don’t have to be on the front line when they are motivated. They want to be on the front line taking their country back.

“It’s good that we can be in the back seat and observe, and give them their supplies while they fight for their country.”

Given the recent war-torn history of the region since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, Vinatieri said he never lets his guard down while traveling in Iraq.

“For the most part with Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish army, they have a lot of pride. They know we’re there to support them so they don’t want anything to happen to us,” Vinatieri said, having just returned from northern Iraq.

“I’m proud every day I put on this uniform. My father was in the military, my grandpa was in the military. It’s me doing my part,” he said. “I have no issues being here. I’m very proud and I love my job.”

Vinatieri and his brother, Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, have a deep-rooted Army background. Their great-great grandfather, Felix V. Vinatieri, an Italian immigrant and musician, served with Lt. Col. George Custer. As band leader, he remained at the fort when Custer and his men were killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

The Vinatieri family continued to live in South Dakota. Beau Vinatieri entered the Army through the ROTC program at Black Hills State University in South Dakota, where he, too, was a kicker. He moved to Las Vegas in 2003 after his wife, Michelle, was hired as a fourth-grade teacher at Bunker Elementary School.

She comes from a military family, too. Her father was in the Air Force. So she understands why her husband is overseas, and she has learned to cope with it.

“I try not to think too much about it,” she said Friday.

“I’m proud of him. I’m proud of everything he stands for and all he sacrifices for us,” Michelle Vinatieri said. “I’m proud of all them over there. There’s a bigger picture than what we see over here.”

LONG-LASTING WAR

Beau Vinatieri said the people in Iraq “have been fighting for years. They want the best for their families They want the best living conditions and jobs and just be able to go on with their day-to-day operations.

“If we can help just a little bit so they can live a normal life, and not have to worry about ISIS … that’s just us doing our part. We’re just helping out fellow brothers and sisters,” he said.

This is the second overseas deployment for Scarbrough, 55, a music teacher from Reno who served in Afghanistan in 2011. More than anything he is motivated by patriotism.

“Every day I wake up grateful that I had the fortune to be born in the United States,” he said.

“I want to … express my gratitude for all of the family members and friends standing by our side while we’re deployed. We look forward to return back to our families coming up here toward the end of the year.”

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2