Capt. Sean Linn prepares every day for deployment of the 891st Engineer Battalion.
Linn, a Guardsman since April 1987, is the battalion’s administrative officer and commander of its headquarters company, based in Iola.
“We’re constantly preparing for deployment, in what we do every day and during once-a-month weekend drills,” Linn said.
While the trend has been for Guard units to receive advance notice of deployment, it is possible the 891st could be called to duty in just a matter of days, even hours. Some soldiers from the battalion were dispatched to Haiti after last month’s earthquake with little notice other than a phone call. That also could happen with de-ployment to Afghan-istan, though such an undertaking would take preparation beyond that possible on drill weekends.
Linn suspects deployment is in the battalion’s future, but noted, “I honestly don’t know when it might happen, or even for sure that it will.”
The battalion was deployed to Iraq in late 2004 and remained there until December 2005.
Deployment possible
