From water plant operator to warrior, Cpl. Head off to Iraq


		Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004

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From water plant operator to warrior,
Cpl. Head off to Iraq

Andy Head

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Andy Head’s heart grew heavy as his walked up to the altar at Fayetteville Christian Church Sunday with his wife and two stepchildren in tow.

The U.S. Army corporal has tried to remain calm since he learned he will be joining the troops serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the magnitude of his future undertaking finally set in that day.

“We went up to the front and they prayed for us and that’s when it really hit me and I know it hit her,” Head said while standing next to his wife, Cathy, 40, in their sprawling Tyrone home. “By the time she stood up, her eyes started to water.”

Head is a water plant operator for the city of Fayetteville’s Water Department. But on Oct. 13, Head was forced to leave his job temporarily, when his National Guard unit, Troop E, 108th Calvary in Griffin, was activated. His pastor, Daniel Overdorf, informed the parishioners about Head’s endeavor Sunday.

One-by-one, well-wishers came up to shower the Head family with hugs and kisses and they agreed to offer their prayers and support to Head and his family during his 18-month deployment.

Head, an administrative noncommissioned officer who serves as the second in command to 1st Sgt. Steve Jones, said he wasn’t surprised when he received the news.

“I knew we were going,” the 40-year-old Fayetteville native said. “We just didn’t know when.”

The soldier now travels to Griffin each day to help the soldiers get their financial paperwork in order and ready the trucks in time for their Jan. 6 departure to Fort Stewart.

The soldiers will have to undergo additional training in Fort Stewart and Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert, in California, to ensure they are ready for urban warfare before they deploy to Iraq. U.S. forces have been working to rid the conquered region of insurgents and Head’s unit will assist their efforts.

Head, who has been in the military for 18 years, never served in a combat situation before, so he is relying on support from his 21-year-old son, Chris Head, a U.S. Marine serving his second tour in Iraq; his nephew, Chad Head, a U.S. Marine serving his second tour in Djibouti, North Africa; and his wife, Cathy, a former U.S. Air Force C-5 load specialist who served during the first Gulf War.

Head also stays abreast of current events via the Internet and daily briefings through www.military.com.

Head said he supports the war, the troops and President George W. Bush for his courage to rid the world of terrorism, and he dismisses reports from those who say the troops are fighting for oil and not for the liberation of the Iraqi people.

Head also dismissed claims that the United States’ decision to declare war on Iraq was misguided since no weapons of mass destruction have been found.

“I believe he had them,” Head said referring to the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. “There’s even evidence of that in the ‘91 Gulf War.”

Head admits it will be tough leaving his family behind, but he believes fighting to rid the world of terrorists that killed thousands on Sept. 11 in America is something he needs to do.

His only task that he has to complete before his departure is to unloosen all of the jars that he tightened with his big, burly hands, his wife joked.

Head knows the reality is he may never return home to his wife, and stepchildren, David, 13, and Aimee, 12, but he refuses to dwell on that. Instead, he will focus on completing his mission and returning home safely.

Cathy Head also knows the dangers of war, so she gave her husband a green crocheted cross, which she traded one of her Air Force patches for in Saudi Arabia, to keep him out of harm’s way. Head said he will wear the cross around his neck right next to his military ID tags.

With his wife’s cross near his heart, and the blessings of friends and family Head said he is more than ready to tackle the mission that lies ahead.

“I’m ready. That’s all I can say,” Head said. “I’m ready.”