By Jill Fennema,

Eric Groen, son of Cal and Cheri Groen of Edgerton, joined the Minnesota Army National Guard unit in Pipestone in January of 1987. He had graduated from SWCH in 1986 and went to Dordt University (College back then), but ran out of money for tuition. At the time, the Minnesota National Guard offered a tuition assistance program that provided full tuition reimbursement for Minnesota State Schools and up to half reimbursement for non-state schools. Eric used that program to pay for his schooling at Dordt for four years.

He joined with the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of 13F which is a forward artillery observer. Eric attended basic training and Advnced Individual Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He spent many of his drill weekends on artillery ranges in Camp Ripley, Minnesota, and Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, calling in fire for many different units that were practicing their shooting skills.  His job was to plot targets on a map and relay the targeting information to the Fire Direction Center so the guns – mortars and artillery – could launch their shells. 

“A highlight was the time we were able to practice calling in close air support from the Minnesota Air National Guard and our perch in the observation post on the hillside allowed us to actually look down on the A7 Corsair as it roared into the valley to drop its bombs,” Eric recalls. The A7 had been phased out of use for active duty, but was still in use by the Guards in the 1980s.

Another memorable experience for Eric was one time when they were calling for fire missions at Camp McCoy. “We heard a team close to us call for a shot that never arrived.  Rather than following protocol and shutting down the range for an investigation, they decided to call for another shot,” Eric recalls. “Only then did we learn that both shots actually landed in the motor pool back on the main post. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but a couple of trucks were destroyed!”

In 1989, Eric’s unit was selected to spend three weeks at the Northern Warfare Training Center in Greeley, Alaska.  They spent the time learning to survive as small units in the arctic environment. They also were able to hone their cross-country and downhill skiing skills!

“Little did I know at the time how much additional opportunity I would have to master those skills,” Eric said.

Upon graduation from Dordt, with a degree in radio/television communications, Eric decided that he was intrigued enough by his time in the National Guard to explore an active duty career.  His intent was to go into the regular Army as a 13F, and his recruiter told him that would be no problem, as that MOS was always in demand.  However, when the day came for his enlistment, the Army had no need for 13Fs.  So Eric ended up agreeing to go in as an 11X – an infantryman that could be assigned any of the specialties – rifleman, mortar-man, or TOW missile crew member. 

With this change in plans, Eric was headed back to Advanced Individual Training for Infantry, which is essentially like going back to basic training.  He officially signed up on the Friday before Sadaam Hussein invaded Iraq in August 1990.

“I was assigned an 11B MOS, which is a rifleman, and joined a group at Fort Benning, Ga., that had just completed their initial four weeks of basic training,” Eric recalled. “The second time around was a much different experience for me, having survived the first go-round and risen to the rank of Sergeant in the National Guard.”

He was named Platoon Guide for the 11Bs and because of his experience was often allowed to march his group to the on-post convenience store without a Drill Sergeant coming along.  With what little outside exposure they were allowed, they watched the build up of troops in the Gulf and assumed they would be heading there upon graduation, just before Christmas. 

Just after Thanksgiving they announced the assignments, and Eric learned that he would be going to the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment in Fort Wainwright, Alaska. 

“As a Minnesotan who thoroughly enjoyed winter sports and activities, I thought I knew about cold and was ready for Fairbanks,” Eric recalls. “ Boy, was I wrong!”

He was in Fairbanks from January of 1991 through December of 1993 and endured two of the snowiest winters on record.  His first winter, over 12 feet of snow fell, and the following winter they saw over 14 feet of snow.  He spent several weeks in February of both those years shoveling snow off of roofs to ensure the buildings wouldn’t collapse.  Eric regularly joked that when asked how he spent the Gulf War, his response would be, “Shoveling snow off the roofs!” 

His job in the 6th Arctic Light Division was to deploy and fight in arctic conditions, so they did most of their training in the winter.  Eric remembers hoping for temperatures below negative 45 degrees, because then they could do their morning physical training indoors.  If it was warmer than -45 degrees, they had to do calisthenics in the parking lot and run 3-5 miles.

In late summer of 1993, their chain of command was changed out with leaders who had never been to Alaska before. 

“As we readied for a big field exercise in late August, they were angry when they saw us in our winter gear and made us go change back to summer uniforms and boots,” Eric recalls. “We lifted off in our CH47 helicopters and headed north to the training area, watching the ground quickly turn white from the accumulated snow.  When we hit the landing zone and the ramp dropped, we charged off into chest-deep snow – in our summer uniforms and boots!”

Fortunately, the First Sergeant, who was an Alaska-veteran, had packed all their winter gear in the tracked vehicles and had them ready for the men to change into before they suffered any consequences from exposure!

Around that same time, Eric  was offered the opportunity to transfer to the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York.  Eric jumped at the offer to see what the Army would be like in a different setting and departed for New York with all his belongings packed in his Chevy Blazer on January 3, 1994.  The first couple of months at Fort Drum were similar to his time in Alaska – lots of snow, but much more moderate temperatures. 

He was assigned to a unit that had just returned from deployment in Mogadishu, Somalia.  By that time Eric had made Squad Leader and it was his job to incorporate rookies from basic training with the veterans who had returned from Somalia.  They spent a lot of time training in the platoon  and squad level operations to rebuild a sense of camaraderie required for infantry success. 

That summer, they assumed the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) rotation, meaning they were the unit that had to be prepared to deploy on 24-hours notice.  Within a couple of weeks of assuming QRF, they were alerted and informed that they would be a key element of Operation Restore Democracy – the invasion of Haiti to reinstall their duly elected President, Jean Bertrand Aristide, who had been ousted in a military coup in 1993.