Tina Smith: “Alpha Company, 641 Aviation Regiment is an Army National Guard company that operates C-23 Sherpa cargo airplanes.…”

“Alpha Company, 641 Aviation Regiment is an Army National Guard company that operates C-23 Sherpa cargo airplanes. Headquartered in Portland, OR, the company has detachments in Oklahoma, Washington, and South Dakota. Commanded by MAJ David Doran, the company consists of 44 soldiers and 10 C-23 airplanes. The Oregon soldiers that are part of the company hail from all around the State of Oregon: Portland, Salem, Pendleton, McMinnville, La Pine, Hermiston, and Dallas. The company deployed to Iraq from October 2007 to May 2008. The story of Alpha Company, 641 Aviation Regiment is as complex as the 44 personalities that comprise the company. It is a mixture of experienced combat veterans on their second or third tour and young and eager soldiers experiencing their first deployment. The youngest is 21; the oldest is 54. There are married fathers and unmarried bachelors. There are full-time guardsmen and traditional National Guard, who split time as electricians, students, civilian aviators, and aspiring attorneys. Identifying with 'Ducks,' 'Beavers,' 'Huskies,' and 'Sooners,' the dynamics of this hodgepodge is sometimes surprising, generally humorous, and always fascinating.”