45th Infantry Brigade Gets Mobilization Orders

Wednesday, August 22nd 2007, 8:37 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ More than 2,400 Oklahoma Army National Guard troops have received mobilization orders calling for them to go on active duty in October for deployment to Iraq early next year, military officials said Wednesday. The 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which has been on alert for possible duty in Iraq since last April, will train at Fort Bliss, Texas, after mobilization on October 19.

The troops are to depart for Iraq sometime after January 1. The mobilization will last one year.

``We have known for several months that the mobilization order was in the works, but until you actually receive the order, the possibility of deployment doesn't seem like a sure thing,'' said Brig. Gen. Myles Deering, the brigade's commander. ``Now we can focus on the job at hand.''

The brigade recently completed 28 days of pre-mobilization training at Camp Gruber, near Muskogee, and at Fort Chaffee, Ark.

The soldiers trained on basic weapons marksmanship, military operations in urban terrain, land navigation, convoy operations, improvised-explosive device recognition, physical fitness improvement and combat-life saving.

Capt. Geoff Legler, a brigade spokesman who will deploy with the rest of group, said the troops are generally upbeat.

``Very few people have real trepidation,'' he said. ``They are excited to go, excited to use the training. Many of our soldiers have been to Iraq and Afghanistan one time before.''

One concern will be the roadside bombs, or improvised explosive devices, that have claimed the lives of so many U.S. troops.

``I think the IEDs are on everybody's mind,'' Legler said. ``To get from one point to another you have to go by helicopter or drive. Most groups drive.

``The only thing you can do when you are over there is take care, pay attention to your surroundings, and hopefully you'll be able to avoid those.''

The brigade is composed of men and women who do military training on weekends and hold civilian jobs. Their employers are required to return them to their jobs when they come off active duty.

``We have a lot of police and highway patrolmen, firemen, but we also have construction workers, doctors and dentists,'' Legler said.

The brigade has family support groups to help the spouses and children of soldiers on active duty.

Arkansas' largest National Guard combat unit, the 39th Infantry Brigade, has also received orders that it will be mobilized for deployment to Iraq.

In April, the Guard said 13,000 Guard troops from Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio and Arkansas would be called up to serve in Iraq.

More than 3,700 members of the U.S. military, including about 60 from Oklahoma, have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003.

Watch the video: More Oklahomans Heading To War

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