National Guard Deployments

[Moses]

Family friends gather to bid Guardsmen farewell

Soldiers will leave for Iraq from Mississippi

BY KRISTIN HARTY
[e-mail]


Wednesday's ice storm didn't stop the Indiana Army National Guard from saying farewell to about 140 area soldiers mobilized for duty in Iraq.

Organizers forged ahead with a formal ceremony Wednesday evening at Anderson University to send off 139 members of the 138th Signal Battalion's Alpha Co. Soldiers from the Anderson-based unit will travel first to Camp Shelby, Miss., for training, then on to Iraq. Their deployment is to last 18 months.

Family and friends were invited to Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. ceremony.

"We are driving on," said Sgt. 1st Class Robert Green, public affairs officer for the Anderson-based unit. "We sent 12 soldiers off a few months ago and had over 300 people turn out. Tonight, naturally, the weather is going to dampen it somewhat. But I would be disappointed if we didn't have a decent turnout."

A communications unit, the 138th Battalion is composed mostly of soldiers from Elwood, Anderson and Greenfield, but includes soldiers from across Indiana.

Green said a number of Anderson-area churches prepared dinner for the soldiers and their families. Maj. Gen. Martin Umbarger, adjutant general for Indiana, was scheduled to speak.

About a third of the soldiers left for Mississippi immediately following Wednesday's farewell, said Maj. Mike Brady, public affairs officer at Camp Atterbury. The remaining soldiers will leave for Mississippi within the next few weeks, he said.

Soldiers will receive a formal send-off when they depart for Iraq from Mississippi, but Wednesday's ceremony was their final farewell from the Hoosier state, Brady said.

"Not all the families are going to be able to travel to Mississippi," Brady said.


Originally published January 6, 2005

[Moses]

Nevada Guard members heading for Afghanistan

Unit to get training in Oklahoma

Don CoxRENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
1/6/2005 01:00 am

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THE DEPLOYMENT OF COMPANY D
* The troops: 200 troops in Company D – 120 from Northern Nevada, the rest from Pendleton, Ore.
* The plan: The company will spend several months training at Fort Sill, Okla., before departing for Afghanistan.
* The job: The company, which is taking 12 CH-47 Chinook helicopters, will transport supplies and soldiers in Afghanistan.
* The place: Afghanistan’s terrain and climate are similar to Nevada’s.

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They hugged, cried and kissed, refusing to let go of each other.

Finally, it was time for Pfc. Moises Ortiz of Sparks to board the bus Wednesday at Reno Stead Airport, leaving behind his girlfriend, Tricia Szalay, and his family: a father, mother and two brothers.

“It’s tough, but you have to do it,” Ortiz said. “You might as well go over there, get it done and come back.”<br>
Ortiz, 21, is part of the Nevada Army National Guard’s Company D, 113th Aviation headed for Afghanistan, where the heavy-duty helicopter unit will spend a year in the war against terrorism.

“He’ll come back to me,” said Szalay, fighting back tears. “It’s really hard.”<br>
Ortiz was among 40 Company D soldiers on the bus ride from Stead to Reno/Tahoe International Airport, where the group left for Fort Sill, Okla. Earlier in the day, a first group of 40 took the same bus ride.

“I told him to be careful,” Roberto Ortiz, 26, said of some final words to his brother, Moises. “His family will be waiting when he comes back.”<br>
About 200 members of Company D are being sent to Afghanistan, with 120 coming from Northern Nevada and the rest from Oregon. The unit has two bases, at Stead and in Pendleton, Ore.

Wednesday’s two busloads were among the last to go.

The company, which is taking 12 CH-47 Chinook helicopters, will spend several months training at Fort Sill before heading for Afghanistan. There, it will transport soldiers and supplies over rough terrain where few roads exist.

The company’s helicopters will be transported by ship to Afghanistan.

“The Chinook helicopter runs Afghanistan,” said Chief Warrant Officer Aaron Southerland, a 113th pilot. “The country is similar to (Nevada), with a climate like Northern Nevada’s.”<br>
In Afghanistan, Southerland, 29, expects to fly in familiar surroundings.

“I can put one landing gear on a hillside and hover while we drop the ramp and unload,” he said.

The 32,000-pound Chinook can carry as much as 54,000 pounds of equipment, or more than 70 soldiers.

“If you’re going to do a major assault, you want lots of troops on the ground quickly,” said Southerland, a graduate of Douglas High School in Minden who’s been a full-time Guard member for 11 years.

Moises Ortiz, also a full-time Guard member, refuels the company’s helicopters.

“He wants to serve his country,” said Roberto Ortiz, a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno. “We came from Mexico, and he believes this country opened doors for us.”<br>
The aviation company is the third Nevada Army Guard unit deployed overseas. The 321st Signal Company is in Kuwait and the 1864th Transportation Company is in southwest Asia.

“I hope he comes back,” Jose Ortiz, the father of Moises, said of his Afghanistan-bound son. “I hope they all come back.”

Copyright © 2005 The Reno Gazette-Journal

[Moses]

Oregon Air Guard To Mobilize For Afghanistan Duty

Currently Over 1,300 Oregon Guardsmen Deployed


PENDLETON, Ore. -- Nearly 100 members of the Oregon Air National Guard will mobilize for duty in Afghanistan.

A mobilization ceremony is scheduled for today at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Pendleton. After that, the unit will train at Fort Sill, Texas for a brief period.

Then, they will head to Afghanistan.

Currently more than 1,300 Oregon national guardsmen and women are deployed throughout the world.

About 1,265 of them are on duty in Iraq, 16 are are in Afghanistan, and another 46 are on duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

[Moses]

Mt. Vernon, IL
Illinois National Guard Send Off
Illinois National Guard Send Off
By:  Lauren Keith
 <br>Mt. Vernon, IL -- Soldiers with the Illinois National Guard leave on Tuesday for their tour of duty, but not before thousands from southern Illinois  send them off with their best wishes.
 <br>

Heartland News caught up with family members on Sunday as they struggled to say goodbye to the 450 Illinois National Guard members preparing to head into the war zone.

 <br>Family members say, "You just try to be as strong as you can for your soldier.  Don't let them see you cry because it's tougher on them."  And no matter their age, everyone at Sunday’s send off did their best to remain strong.  <br>
 <br>The Unit leaves on Tuesday for more training in Fort Dix, New Jersey.  After the intense training the soldiers will head to Iraq for at least the next 18 months.

 <br>The soldiers are part of an artillery division, which means they primarily train for long range shooting.
 <br>

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Illinois National Guard Facts
* The Illinois Army National Guard is approximately 10,000 strong, while the Illinois Air National Guard comprises about 3,200, for a combined strength of 13,200 members.  <br>* Under the Department of Defense plans, the Illinois National Guard stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the active duty components in providing our nations' defense capability.
* The Illinois Department of Military Affairs (DMAIL), headquartered at Camp Lincoln in Springfield, is responsible for all matters relating to the Illinois National Guard.  As a department of state government, DMAIL oversees and manages the daily operations of the Illinois National Guard and its related activities.
* The department became a part of the executive branch of state government July 8, 1957, as currently stipulated by the Illinois Compiled Statues, Chapter 20, Act 1805.  The department is the official channel of communication between the federal government and the State of Illinois on all matters relating to the Illinois National Guard.
Source:  Illinois National Gaurd

 

[Moses]

Tue, Jan. 04, 2005

Pa. Guard unit prepares for Iraq deployment
MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press[/color]

HARRISBURG, Pa.[/b] - The first wave of a 2,200-person Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit, consisting of soldiers drawn from around the state, begins traveling this week to training at a base in Mississippi in advance of combat deployment to Iraq this summer.

Headquartered in Washington County, the 2nd Brigade combat team of the storied 28th Infantry Division represents the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's largest contribution to the Iraq war so far, and will be the state's largest combat deployment since World War II, Guard spokesman Capt. Cory P. Angell said.

Soldiers learned more than a month ago that they were being mobilized for duty in Iraq.

"The majority of communities across the state will have somebody from that area that's going to be under this mobilization," Angell said Tuesday. "The grassroots-level hometown farewells, they'll be occurring across the state."

Headquarters staff and other key personnel will ship out on Thursday to Camp Shelby, Miss., followed by the other units in installments over the next month. Their gear is being shipped south in 180 rail cars.

About 1,100 Pennsylvania Army National Guard soldiers from an armor and artillery unit doing combat security are due back in February after they complete a one-year stint in Iraq. Their ranks are filled largely from Pittsburgh, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

Roughly 400 others assigned to a variety of tasks are also posted in Iraq and should return to the United States sometime in the next year, Angell said.

Another 750 are serving in Task Force Dragoon - a mixture of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Guardsmen - and arrived in Iraq within the past month, Angell said.

The 2nd Brigade combat team is composed of infantry, armor, artillery, engineers and support and will probably arrive in Kuwait in mid-June, then be sent into Iraq for a year. The brigade will be combined with Guard units from at least eight other states to perform security and stabilization operations.

"These guys will be doing route reconnaissance, local-area security, presence patrols. They have the ability to cordon-and-search. Whether or not they're going to be tasked with that mission, I don't know," Angell said.

Three Pennsylvania Guard soldiers were killed in action in Iraq last year - Sgt. Sherwood Baker of Plymouth, Spc. Carl Curran of Union City and Spc. Mark Kasecky of McKees Rocks.

The vast majority of the 16,000 soldiers in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard belong to the 28th Infantry Division, the country's oldest armed-forces division, formed in 1878 but having roots in Ben Franklin's battalion of "Associators" during the American Revolution.

Soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division saw action in the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II, and deployed in Europe during the Korean War. The World War II exploits of the 28th were featured in the 1998 movie, "When Trumpets Fade."

[Moses]

Eagle Grove Iowa Guard unit alerted for active duty

by Stella Shaffer

The Iowa national Guard's alerted another Iowa unit that it'll be called to active duty. About 80 members of the 36-55th Maintenance Company based in Eagle Grove rebuild weapons systems, transmissions and engines for both wheeled vehicles and tracked ones like tanks. The guard's Lieutenant Colonel Greg Hapgood says every soldier gets specialized training in the skills and abilities they'll need to be part of a well-planned fighting force.He says every soldier holds what's called a Military Occupational Specialty, which is their area of expertise, what they do. Even if you're an infantry soldier, the plain soldier many people think of, you've gotten special training to combat the enemy in certain offensive or defensive operations. Hapgood says the Iowa National Guard has a "huge array" of different skills and jobs a soldier can learn and do. The idea of a basic solder having a certain set of skills still holds true, but he says all soldiers have at least on other job they're able to do with a great deal of competency. There's no date yet for the 36-55th to be called up or sent to active duty.

[Moses]

National Guard and Reserve Mobilized as of January 5, 2005

            This week, the Army and Navy announced an increase in the number of reservists on active duty in support of the partial mobilization, while the Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard had a decrease. The net collective result is 1,875 more reservists mobilized than last week.

            At any given time, services may mobilize some units and individuals while demobilizing others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease. Total number currently on active duty in support of the partial mobilization for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 162,007; Naval Reserve, 3,462; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 11,654; Marine Corps Reserve, 10,349; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 967. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to 188,439, including both units and individual augmentees.
 <br>            A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve personnel, who are currently mobilized can be found at www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2005/d20050105.pdf

[Moses]

R.I. Guard says farewell tomorrow to 2 units

03:32 PM EST on Tuesday, January 4, 2005

projo.com staff


CRANSTON -- The Rhode Island National Guard will hold goodbye ceremonies tomorrow for two Guard units, representing more than 200 soldiers, deploying this week for Southwest Asia.

The 100 members of the 861st Engineering Company and the 125 members of the 172nd Infantry Company will leave Rhode Island early Thursday morning for training before starting their 12-month tours in Southwest Asia.

It will increase the number of Guard members in R.I. units deployed to more than 800.

Members of the 861st Engineering Company will say goodbye to family and friends during a 9 a.m. ceremony at the Camp Fogarty Armory, East Greenwich.

The company will initially deploy to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to prepare for deployment overseas.

Members of the 172nd Infantry Company will say goodbye during a 1 p.m. ceremony at Camp Fogarty.

The 172nd will initially deploy to Fort Stewart, Ga., to prepare for deployment overseas.

Maj. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, the adjutant general of Rhode Island, announced on Nov. 30 that the two companies, along with 58 members of the 143d Airlift Wing, had been called to active duty. Members of the airlift wing deployed last month.

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Online at: www.projo.com/digitalbulletin/content/projo-20050104-deploy.785add8f.html

[Moses]

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Iron County, January 5
Upper Peninsula National Guard to be Deployed

Members of a western Upper Peninsula National Guard unit are spending their last morning with family. Thirty-five members of the Iron River-based and Ironwood Company B, 107th Engineer Battalion, are leaving this afternoon.

The members will be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas prior to being deployed to Iraq for a one-year tour.

An open house and send off will be held this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. central time at the Iron River armory.