BY PATRICK LAIR
ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD | Posted: Friday, August 22, 2008 12:00 am
The Oregon Military Department says that another large group of Oregon National Guardsmen will be sent to Iraq next year.
The Oregon Guard's 41st Brigade, which includes Bravo Co. 2-162 Infantry Battalion out of Corvallis, has been alerted it will be mobilized to perform security force operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Oregon military spokesperson Kay Fristad said the group is expected to depart sometime next spring and be pieced out to different areas across Iraq.
"The mission has changed several times since we first heard about it, and it could change again," she said.
Soldiers are being told to expect to be away from home for a year or more.
With a likely head count of 3,500 soldiers, the Guard deployment would be the largest the state has accommodated since World War II.
In 2006, the Oregon Guard sent around 1,500 soldiers to Afghanistan, and about 750 soldiers went with the 2-162 Infantry Battalion to Iraq in 2003.
The Corvallis unit typically has around 150 soldiers, Fristad said.
A large portion of the brigade is currently wrapping up a three-week training exercise at Gowen Field, outside of Boise, Idaho, meant to simulate conditions on the ground overseas.
The exercises even incorporate some Iraqi-Americans to conduct role-playing, Fristad said.
The military routinely employs citizens with cultural and linguistic knowledge of Iraq and other parts of the Middle East to assist deploying soldiers, said Capt. Stephen Bomar, another public affairs officer.
The 41st Brigade encompasses multiple units from Portland to Klamath Falls.
After assessing troops for medical and other readiness issues, the brigade will likely be accepting volunteers from the 82nd Brigade Troop Command, also in Oregon, and from other parts of the country, to fill out its ranks.
Joint Task Force Phoenix V, the Oregon-led mission to Afghanistan in 2006, included soldiers from more than 30 states and Puerto Rico.
The Oregon Guard includes about 6,400 Army soldiers and 2,100 Air Force members.