Local unit shipping out to Guantanamo Bay BY COLLEEN LUTOLF Staff Writer FARRAH MAFFAI staff Capt. Jurandir Araujo (l) and 2nd Lt. Peter Hegseth of the Woodbridge National Guard Charlie company, 2nd Battalion 113th Regiment, fold the flag that will accompany them to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they will provide security. WOODBRIDGE — Members of the Woodbridge National Guard will take a piece of the township with them when they leave their Main Street post for a new locale — Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Ninety-one National Guardsmen and women of Charlie Company 2nd Battalion-113th Infantry of the U.S. Army Infantry Division will be taking the Woodbridge Township flag with them when they are deployed in approximately one to two months to the controversial prison where terrorist suspects have been detained without being charged or given access to counsel since 9/11. Mayor Frank Pelzman presented the flag to four members of the Woodbridge unit’s members on May 11 before the weekly council meeting. "We’re proud of you," Pelzman said. "We wish you a safe trip and a safe journey home. I hope you guys are back in 18 months." Capt. Jurandir Araujo, who requested the flag from the mayor, said the unit’s prison security mission will take approximately 18 months. "It’s a security mission. We’ll find out exactly what we’re doing when we get there," he said. One thing Araujo is sure of, he said, was that the township’s flag — which features the names of the township’s 10 communities — will fly at the unit’s Cuba command post. "We want to make sure we represent Woodbridge," Araujo said during the presentation. "Flying the flag is a historical thing from the days of the militia," Araujo said. He said militias would fly their towns’ respective flags as they joined army regulars on their way to battle. The Woodbridge militia was formed in 1664, the same year the township was founded, to defend the East Jersey colony, a press release stated. The last time the Woodbridge battalion was deployed, Araujo said, was in World War II, to participate in the liberation of Dauchau, a concentration camp in Germany. He said he is proud to be a member of the current deployment. "It’s my job, it’s my career path," the captain said after receiving the flag. "I want to serve my country and I’m proud to serve in the infantry." The company, which has been training locally, went to Fort Dix on Friday to continue training before deployment to Guantanamo Bay. "I’ve never been deployed before," 2nd Lt. Peter Hegseth, of New York City, said. "This is our opportunity to play our role on the war on terrorism. It gives me a sense of pride and patriotism, and gives me a chance to make this country safer." Hegseth said most of the apprehension he is feeling toward the mission has to do with being separated from his family. John Keich, of Fords, said he is re­lieved his son, Sgt. Jonathan Keich Jr., 29, of Fords, will be in Cuba instead of Iraq. "I guess we’re OK with it," the elder Keich, a Vietnam veteran, said from his son’s residence on Thursday. "We feel a little bit safer that he’s going to Cuba rather than Iraq. Right now, Iraq is not a safe place for any troops. We’re behind him, though. He wants to go." Second Lt. Ian Cairns, of East Brunswick, was also one of the unit’s offi­cers who attended the flag presentation. He said the Guantanamo Bay mission will be his first deployment. "I feel just like every other soldier," he said, "apprehensive and patriotic." "I’m anticipating being able to do what I’m trained to do," Hegseth said. Araujo said the unit, whose division headquarters are located in Riverdale, has responded to domestic emergencies such as hurricanes and floods, and has provided homeland security in New Jer­sey since Sept. 11, 2001.