TIFTON — U.S. Army Reserve men and women in Tifton’s 377th Quartermaster Company have been called to active military duty and are expected to leave for Fort Stewart at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

They don’t know yet where they will be stationed as they serve the U.S. in the war with Iraq or how long they will be there.

The City of Tifton is asking local residents to show support for the company by wearing red, white and blue and waving flags and posters as they line the troops’ departure route. The route will begin at the reserve on Victory Drive near the ballparks and Leroy Rogers Center, continue east on Second Street, south on Main Street and east on U.S. Highway 82.

“I have never seen a community as patriotic as Tifton,” said Lt. Windy Windham, who is from Florence, S.C. “Every time I go to a restaurant, someone shakes my hand and tells me they appreciate us. I like Tifton.”

Members of the Buck Petroleum Fuel Unit are trained to receive, store and deliver fuel to tanks, helicopters and “any rolling stock” that needs it to operate.

“We can be on the front lines or in the back or the middle, all according to what the mission demands,” said 1st Sgt. Benjamin Ford.

Ford said that the 106 men and women soldiers who are stationed at Tifton’s Army Reserve are part of a 183-member unit out of Macon.

Ford met his wife Christine Davis Ford, who serves in the unit he commands, when the two returned from duty in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.

Ford and his wife, Christine Davis Ford, formerly of Tifton, both served in the same reserve unit. They started dating in 1992.

She teaches seventh graders at Albany Middle School. They will leave behind a 16-year-old son, Darrell Marshall.

“He is staying with his aunt in Macon,” said Christine Ford.

The Fords said Marshall was forced two weeks ago to change schools to attend one in Macon.

“It was an adjustment for him,” said 1st Sgt. Ford.

Ford said that he has served in his current position with the unit for three years and has been with the unit a total of 16. He said he was “very fortunate” to have found his wife.

Christine Ford said her students in Albany gave her a going away party and wrote her letters and cards to take with her.

“I wish I could go see them one more time before I leave,” said Ford.

The Tifton reserve unit is a mix of volunteers who work full-time jobs in a variety of professions. Some are single with no children while others are single parents.

“We have people from Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, all around, stationed here,” said Ford.

Those from Tifton include Marshall Jackson, Keith Barrett, Anthony Turner, Ray Ewings and Leroy Martin.

Christine Ford said that she and others appreciated all the care packages, letters and cards people sent her and her unit.

“When we are in the desert, it helps for people to send things to the whole unit,” said Ford. “Some people don’t have anything, no folks, no mail. There is no Wal-Mart there.”



To contact reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321, ext. 208.