Local guardsmen could be headed for tour in Iraq

Several local National Guard soldiers will likely soon be headed to the Middle East in support of U.S. operations there.
Maj. Gen. Donald Storm, Adjutant General for Kentucky, announced Friday that members of the 1st Battalion, 149 Infantry and other Kentucky Army National Guard units had been alerted for possible mobilization in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
National Guardsmen out of Williamsburg, Barbourville, Somerset, and London are expected to be mobilized in late June for what will be more than a year of active duty, according to a press release issued by the Kentucky national guard.
The soldiers will first report to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, where they will undergo weeks of additional mobilization training before shipping out overseas.
David Altom, a spokesperson for the Kentucky National Guard, said the “ultimate destination will be somewhere in the Persian Gulf,” but exactly where hasn’t been determined yet.
Altom said the typical tour of duty is one year in theater, not including time spent in mobilization training.
In October 2001 following the 911 attacks, National Guardsmen out of Barbourville and Williamsburg were mobilized as part of Operation Noble Eagle.
Altom said the guardsmen provided additional security for military installations in Germany, which were thought to be possible targets of additional attacks.
The local units and detachments that were alerted last week include 100 soldiers from Barbourville, 90 from Somerset, 70 from London, and 30 from Williamsburg among others.
An alert order does not constitute an order to mobilize, but does constitute prudent planning on the part of the command to ensure soldiers are properly prepared for activation once an actual mobilization order is issued by the Department of the Army.
At present the Kentucky National Guard currently has more than 800 airmen and soldiers mobilized in support of the global war on terror.