AUSTINTOWN Police chief is chosen to lead prestigious National Guard unit

One National Guard captain described the unit as the most combat-ready in the country.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The reputation of Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry was built by soldiers like Joseph Cicchetti.
In 1945, Cicchetti, of Waynesburg, near Canton, braved Japanese gunfire to help rescue 14 soldiers in the Philippines.
Despite being struck in the head by a shell fragment, he carried a soldier 50 yards to safety.
Cicchetti then collapsed and died.
He was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor.
Six soldiers from the 148th received the medal as a result of their actions in World War II, more than any other unit that fought in the war.
Leading the unit
Gordon Ellis knows it can be intimidating to lead a unit with that kind of reputation, but he thinks he's up to the challenge.
"Anyone in that position feels a little trepidation," Ellis said. "But at the same time, I'm excited because it's an honor to command a unit of this caliber."
The Austintown police chief, a major in the national guard, took command this month from Lt. Col. Mark Slavik, who was reassigned. Ellis most likely will be promoted to lieutenant colonel in the next few weeks.
As commander, Ellis will be responsible for training the Delaware unit's 815 guardsmen for future combat assignments.
"Our mission is to train for that eventuality, not knowing if that will come or not," he said.
National guardsmen are required to train one weekend a month. Ellis said he does some of his work as unit commander on other weekends or at night.
The 148th returned in November from a yearlong assignment to provide security for national institutions like Fort Knox. He doesn't think it will be reactivated in the near future, but there's no guarantee.
Who would be chief
Township Trustee Richard Edwards said trustees most likely would name Lt. Mark Durkin acting police chief if Ellis is called to active duty. Edwards said Durkin has done a good job as acting chief when Ellis has been away in the past.
Capt. Neal O'Brien, who served under Ellis from 1992-1993, said the 148th is the top infantry unit in the country when it comes to combat readiness. O'Brien said Ellis was picked to command the unit in part because some of the qualities he has developed as police chief benefit the national guard.
"He would never ask the troops to do something he himself would not do," he said. "That's very important to the younger troops."
Ellis has been police chief about three years. His last assignment in the national guard was as commander of 458 guardsman in the 1st/107th Armored Battalion.
Ellis, 41, enlisted in the national guard in 1984 after four years of active duty in the Army, part of which he spent at the Berlin Wall.
"We'd walk patrols and the East Germans and the Russians would be walking the other direction," Ellis said. "The world was a simpler place then."
hill@vindy.com