ST. PAUL -- Minnesota's 2,600 soldiers in Iraq are headed into overtime. They are not happy about it, but will continue to do their best, Minnesota Adjutant General Larry Shellito said.
"You take a swig of water, spit it out and go out to the huddle," Shellito said a soldier told him of his reaction news that soldiers will stay in the war zone up to 125 days longer than was expected.
"They were mentally preparing for this to end in March," the major general added, but now soldiers likely will be away through July.
The extension brought a range of reaction, from subdued to angry. Among the strongest comments came from Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.
"I am extremely disappointed to hear that the president's decision to implement a troop surge in Baghdad will have a major, negative impact on the Minnesota National Guard," Coleman wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
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"These soldiers have made the ultimate commitment to serve our country and defend our freedom. They deserve better than to find out just two short months before their planned return that their tours will be extended for at least another 125 days."
Another Republican, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, used similar language.
"This decision by federal officials is not consistent with the expectation or understanding provided to our soldiers," Pawlenty said. "It's unfair to them and their families."
Shellito himself appeared frustrated with the news while discussing it with reporters.
"They have built up expectations" of troops coming home, the general said of soldiers and their families. "It is very, very emotional."
Shellito, former president of Alexandria Technical College and a Minnesota State University Moorhead graduate, urged Minnesotans to take care of soldiers' families who had planned to have loved ones home in March. He notified families soon after Bush's Wednesday night speech, although Coleman complained to Gates that the Defense Department did not give families adequate notice of the change.
"Their families also deserve better than the insensitive manner in which this announcement was handled," Coleman told Gates. "These families have been eagerly counting the days until they could welcome our veteran heroes back to the United States. To find out that their soldier's stay has been extended is heartbreaking. To find out by watching the news on TV is completely unacceptable."
While Bush said he plans a troop surge in the Baghdad area, Shellito said Minnesota troops do not know where they will be stationed.
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The Minnesota troops are part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 134th Infantry Division, which also has units based in nine other states. They spent six months training before heading for what they thought was a year in Iraq.
A battalion based in Moorhead, with associated units in other communities, is serving in Taqqadum west of Baghdad. Battalions based in New Ulm, Bloomington, Stillwater and Camp Ripley are in camps southeast of the capital city.
The Red Bull division, as it is known, does a variety of work in Iraq, including providing security for transportation routes and providing clean water for Iraqis.
