FORT HOOD - Early Saturday morning, the 13th Corps Support Command at Fort Hood began deployment procedures for the 96th Transportation Company. Though no one was saying where they were headed, it was plain to see by their sand colored camo gear and recent news reports that they were bound for somewhere in the Persian Gulf region. Battalion Commander David Cotter identified the 96th as a support unit that is normally involved in transporting supplies from seaports to units in the field. The 200 plus soldiers of the 96th rose early Saturday and spent the morning packing their gear. In the early afternoon, they were issued M-16 assault rifles. Informal goodbyes with friends and family were held in and around one of the Base sanctuar-ies in the early afternoon. by Don Menzies