In the Wisconsin National Guard's largest deployment since World War II, roughly 3,500 Wisconsin National Guard soldiers will be sent to Iraq for active duty in February.
Soldiers from the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the largest National Guard unit in the state, and six other Wisconsin units, received notification this past weekend that they would be deployed.
According to a statement, the soldiers will report for duty at their local armories in February 2009 and will serve in Iraq for about 10 months.
Their mission in Iraq, according to a Defense Department news release, will be to assure freedom of movement and continuity of operations.""
The soldiers have been on alert since December 2007, training intensively in preparation for the past eight months. They will train at an Army base in Texas for two months before leaving for Iraq.
After this deployment, 10,000 members of the Wisconsin Army and Air National Guard will have actively served since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the statement.
The Wisconsin National Guard, which has roughly 10,000 members, will have 6,000 forces in Wisconsin available for emergency response during the deployment.
