Local citizen soldiers and their families received on Saturday a pep-talk, and words of encouragement and comfort from U.S. Army Reserve officials, who were on island to meet with members of the local Army Reserve unit. Despite the devastation in the territory caused by the Sept. 29 disasters, which affected several soldiers’ families, Lt. General Jack Stultz says reservists in the territory are doing remarkably well.

“Morale is great. Attitude is great. It’s the spirit that inspires you,” Stultz said during an interview with Samoa News and KHJ news at the Army Reserve Center in Tafuna. Stultz is the Chief of the Army Reserve and commanding general of the U.S. Army Command since May 2006, according to the Army Reserve website.

Stultz explained the purpose of the visit came from a promise he made two years ago, after visiting Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but didn’t make it to American Samoa.

Stultz said he saw some of the local soldiers during his Christmas visit to Iraq last year, and promised them he would visit once the unit returned to American Samoa. He said this trip to Pago Pago was planned six months in advance “to come out as a welcome home for the soldiers” who came back from the Middle East.

“And then the tsunami hit. So it really changed the focus of our visit from ‘a welcome home celebration’ to more of, putting arms around the soldiers, telling them — we care and we’re here for you,” he said.

He said this message of supporting soldiers— putting arms around the soldiers— was done during their visit Wednesday to the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu where local Army Reserve Sgt. T. Seui’s wife is being held in the intensive care unit for injuries from the tsunami.

Stultz said he expressed condolences to Seui for the death of his daughter from the tsunami. Except for this case of Seui’s family, Stultz said there were no other casualties among the soldiers and their families. He said Seui’s wife is improving.

From Honolulu, Stultz and his wife Laura headed to American Samoa, arriving last Friday. They spent the day visiting soldiers who had lost so much during the tsunami.

“You just feel helpless...you see soldiers and families (who have) lost everything,” said Stultz, adding this is the same observation he gave the Governor during their meeting. “As I [also] told the governor— you have warriors here and what I saw...was warrior spirit— you can knock me down” but not be defeated.

He further visited the family of a female soldier in Pago Pago and the remains of her home that was on the second floor, sitting amid the rubble. He said the female soldier went through the rubble following the tsunami and found the American flag, which now proudly flies at the debris site. “That’s a warrior spirit,” he stated.

As to the kind of assistance the Army Reserve is looking at providing our Toa o Samoa following the disasters, Stultz said they are working on a number of things, including being in touch with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the “good news is that...our soldiers are telling us that FEMA people have been out” to help them.

The Army is also talking with the American Red Cross for the types of aid available; as well as talking to the Army Emergency Relief, which is a fund that helps soldiers— either through loan or grants, he said.

According to the military chief, when he gets back to Washington D.C. he will personally contact the head of the emergency relief “to make sure that he tells his people...to expedite those types of requests” from citizen soldiers and their families in America Samoa.

“Laura will be working with the Army Reserve spouses on how we can get support for the soldiers,” he said, adding his wife’s idea is that if “we can get monetary support that we can put in terms of gift cards, or cash cards...and they can get the things that they need the most.” He said donated clothes may not meet local needs.

Stultz said one of the goals for the Army is “never leave a fallen comrade” and this includes not only those who lost their lives in battle “but also a comrade, who has fallen on hard times in their lives...and we take care of them.”

He said the Army Reserve is “not going to leave these fallen comrades in American Samoa— they need our help.”

Asked about the spirit and morale of the affected soldiers and their families following the disasters, he said “remarkably” despite what they have gone through. He told a story by a soldier on the day of the tsunami, in which his military training kicked in quickly and saved his family.

“They are taught in the military to think and react quickly to save lives. He (the soldier) said he came out after the earthquake and saw the wave coming,” Stultz recalled. “And he reacted by grabbing his 5-year old son, throwing him on to the rooftop of the house. And then he (the solder) was swept away by the wave. He was able to grab on to something to hold on. But his son survived on the rooftop away from the water.”

Stultz said the soldier noted his military training helped save his son’s life. He also recalled the female soldier from Pago Pago who reacted quickly by moving away with her children from the shoreline and as they drove away to safety, the wave came in.

“I didn’t hear a single solder or family member complain. Everyone talked about moving on,” he said.

Stultz said he has not received word yet from local officials if the Army Reserve will help during the rebuilding efforts. So far, the Army Reserve has been involved in rescue operations and debris clean up.

Laura Stultz, who is also in the military, said she has spoken to some of the families to see how they are doing and what they need, and to take such requests back to Washington D.C. and push for the military families in American Samoa.

More this week on the Stultz interview as well as the future of local reserve soldiers being deployed for active duty.