On a mission
BUTLER TWP — Spc. Tristan Stape spent what he called a “bittersweet holiday” Friday, celebrating Christmas with his family in Latrobe.
He was one of 100 members of the 377th Engineer Company, based at the U.S. Army Reserve site on Evans City Road, to begin 16 months away from home Sunday. The unit pulled out in a caravan of buses at 7:30 a.m. headed for Pittsburgh International Airport.
Its first destination is Texas, where the unit will take part in two weeks of field training exercises before being deployed to an undisclosed location in Africa.
A return home is scheduled for April 2022.
Stape has been deployed before, serving in Kuwait and Iraq.
“When I woke up Christmas morning, I told myself, 'Don't be ungrateful today.' I really appreciated things more and it was a special day.
“I looked at my parents and sister (Sunday) ... you miss a lot,” he added. “There's a lot of really hard days, and you miss things with your friends and family.”
According to company commander Katerina Graf, the deployment originally was scheduled to take place just before Christmas, but was pushed back so members of the unit could spend the holiday with loved ones.
The company includes members from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and New Jersey. Those not from the area have become familiar with Butler through drill sessions here one weekend every month and for a two-week stint in the summer.Graf previously has been deployed to the Middle East.“There's good and bad to having already been through this,” she said. “You know what to expect as far as the work that needs to be done and that's good. But you also know what you'll be missing out on.”Normally, family members are able to say goodbye where the company boards the buses. Due to COVID-19 constraints, however, those wishing to bid farewell were asked to line Main Street in Butler, where the caravan was escorted by vehicles from Butler City, Butler Township and state police.One group that braved the frigid temperatures was the Hays family. Trevor Hays, a 2010 Butler Area High School graduate, is part of the unit being deployed.His parents, Raymond and Joy, brother Ryan, who served two years in the Marines, and Trevor's daughter, Cora waved to the third bus in the procession, which included Trevor, who previously served in Thailand and Germany.
“It never gets any easier,” said Raymond Hays of seeing his son sent overseas, “but you have to respect what he's doing. He's fighting for all of us.”Many of the deployed volunteered, including Spc. Keith Grippo of Pittsburgh.“I've been in the Reserves for 10 years, and I've never been deployed,” he said. “There was a void I needed to fill for myself; it's a personal thing. This is a good company, and I'm excited about it.”Once in Africa, the unit will be split up and day-to-day duties will change.“Sometimes, we'll stay put for base improvements. Other days, we'll be sent out to do God knows what,” Graf said. “Everything is mission-dependent.”Frequent contact with family will be allowed.“There will be Wi-Fi and it can be a strong connection, depending on the location,” Graf added. “We can also use local cellphones.Daily morale receives a boost from something most people take for granted.“Showers,” said Graf. “If we have access to showers, it helps everybody have a better mind-set.”
