Guard heading to Iraq

Fredericksburg National Guard units heading to Iraq next year

Date published: 12/2/2006

By EDIE GROSS

Members of Fredericksburg's Army National Guard unit will head for Iraq early next year, a second trip to the Middle East for some of them.

The National Guard announced yesterday that 177 soldiers from Virginia--111 from Fredericksburg--would be activated Jan. 4.

The soldiers are expected to report to Fort Dix, N.J., several days later and deploy to Iraq about three months after that, said Lt. Col. Chester C. Carter III, public affairs officer for the Virginia Army National Guard.

Ten of the soldiers hail from Headquarters-Headquarters Company, 116th Brigade Troops Battalion, and 101 come from Company A, 116th Brigade Troops Battalion, both based in Fredericksburg.

The 116th was formerly the 229th Engineer Battalion, which sent soldiers to Bagram and Ghazni, Afghanistan, in the summer of 2004. Members of the 229th also served in Iraq that year with the 276th Engineer Battalion based in Richmond.

Many of those soldiers volunteered to return to the region this time around, said Capt. Colin Noyes of the Fredericksburg Armory.

"Once you go overseas, you're pretty much exempt [from being called on] for up to a period of five years," Noyes said. "These individuals like serving their country."

Members of this unit also served in Bosnia in 2001, at the Pentagon in 2003 and 2004 and most recently in Arizona, along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Sixty-six members of Company C, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry, based in Leesburg, will join the Fredericksburg Guard members, who will be commanded by Capt. Ryan Thompson, Noyes said. This is the third deployment for Thompson, who has also served in Bosnia and at the Pentagon, Noyes said.

The soldiers' service is expected to last 18 months, but could be as long as two years.

"That unit has done a tremendous job for the commonwealth and the country, and we appreciate the job they're doing," said Carter.

To reach EDIE GROSS:540/374-5428
Email: egross@freelancestar.com

Virginia Guard steps up Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 5,290 Virginia Army National Guard soldiers and 2,130 Virginia Air National Guard airmen have served on active duty, some more than once. More than 1,400 soldiers and 440 airmen have served in Operation Noble Eagle, associated with homeland defense and support to federal, state and local governments. More than 1,480 soldiers and 370 airmen have joined Operation Enduring Freedom, which generally refers to operations associated with the war on terrorism outside the United States. More than 2,440 soldiers have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. More than 430 airmen have participated in air expeditionary force operations in southwest Asia.

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Date published: 12/2/2006