The five-member council unanimously elected Councilman Robert Rasmussen, who was nominated by Bonzo. Residents will be electing a replacement mayor in November 2005; Rasmussen will serve until that person is sworn in in January 2006.

“Congratulations and good luck,'' said Bonzo to Rasmussen, before getting to the remaining items on the council's agenda.

Bonzo, whose term expires in 2008, is scheduled to ship out with four other officers for Camp Shelby, Miss., on Jan. 4.

About 500 other members of the battalion will follow on Jan. 24.

The battalion will train for six months and then is expected to serve a yearlong tour of duty in the Middle East. Exactly where the group will serve is classified.

At the beginning of Wednesday night's City Council meeting, other residents of Enoch who serve in the battalion, mostly Guard members from southwestern Utah, gathered with their families in front of the council table and were given a farewell.

Music teacher Allan Lee and several of his band students from Cross Hollow Intermediate School in neighboring Cedar City performed in honor of the soldiers.

Lee, who served in Desert Storm in 1991 with the Third Armor Division out of Germany, presented Bonzo, a 32-year veteran with the battalion, with a plaque and American flag to take with him during the deployment.

“This [flag] is to display as you see fit until you bring it back in 18 months,'' Lee told Bonzo.

Lee said the flag is meant to represent Enoch in the cause of freedom and urged Bonzo and other soldiers to defend the country and defend themselves.

Lee also gave Bonzo a flashlight.

“This is for you when times are dark to turn on and think of us,'' said Lee.

mhavnes@sltrib.com