JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, - A Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldier had to travel halfway around the world to meet other Soldiers from his hometown in northwestern Washington state.
At the material yard maintained here by the 36th Engineer Brigade and the 724th Engineer Battalion of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, three Soldiers - Spc. Christopher Rhodes, Pfc. Adam Chhour and Pfc. Kevin Wehmeyer, each from different units - began working with each other to disperse construction materials throughout theater and facilitate the responsible drawdown of forces.
"One of the first questions I ask Soldiers I work with is 'where are you from?'" said Rhodes, 24, of Monroe, Wash., currently assigned to the 36th Engineer Brigade of Fort Hood, Tex.
Much to his surprise, both Chhour and Wehmeyer replied "Monroe, a town near Seattle, Wash."
"After running into only one other person from Monroe during the last four years I've been on active duty, I was totally surprised to find three people from Monroe," Rhodes said, "especially on the other side of the world."
"As I look at how we met, it really amazes me considering that my name was drawn from a hat to come down here and support this mission," said Wehmeyer, 20, who now resides in Superior, Wis., and is assigned to the 950th Clearance Company.
"What amazes me most about that we all took different routes from the same city to get here," said Chhour, who is assigned to the 739th Multi-Role Bridge Company. "Spc. Rhodes is active duty, Pfc. Wehmeyer is National Guard while I am an Army Reservist. It blows my mind when I think that we meet each other here when we came from all three components of the Army."
Although the Soldiers had never met before coming to Iraq, they shared a instant bond when they began working together. After they return from this deployment they plan on continuing their friendship.
"These are some great guys to work with," said Master Sgt. Gregory Wendt, who is responsible for supervising operations at the materials yard. "When they started working together, I would have thought they'd known each other for years. They found ways to be productive while still joking around like old friends."
Task Force Badger, in Iraq since late April, is composed of National Guard Engineer units from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico in addition to active component units from Fort Riley, Kan., and Joint Base Lewis McChord, Wash., and an Army Reserve unit from Illinois.
While deployed to Iraq, Task Force Badger is a subordinate unit of the 36th Engineer Brigade based out of Fort Hood, Texas.