Guard gets alert
Sunday, March 4, 2007 12:08 AM PST
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| argus observer file photo
Citizen-soldiers from Eastern Oregon’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavarly guide a tank off of a gunnery range in July. The 3rd Battalion, along with several other Guard units across the nation recived an alert order Sunday to prepare for a possible call to active duty. According to the Defense Department, more than 18,000 Guardsmen have recieved a warning order and most will likely be part of a third troop rotation into Iraq. |
Pat Caldwell Argus Observer
ONTARIO
More than 18,000 Army National Guard soldiers from seven states, including Eastern Oregon’s citizen-soldier unit, were place under an alert order Sunday according to the Oregon Military Department.
The alert order, from the Defense Department, was sent to Guard units in Idaho, Montana, Utah, Oregon, New York, Louisiana and Tennessee. The mandate from the Defense Department places those Guard units in a pre-mobilization status with a full mobilization and deployument overseas to follow.
Eastern Oregon’s Army National Guard unit, the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry (Armor) was notified late Sunday its parent unit, Idaho’s 116th Cavalry Brigade, had been alerted by Pentagon officials for possible mobilization and deployment.
Shortly after the notification from Idaho, the 3rd Battalion began to inform Guardsmen across Eastern Oregon.
The 3rd Battalion consists of citizen-soldier units from The Dalles, Hermistion, Pendleton, La Grande, Baker City and Ontario. The 3rd Battalion headquarters is situated in La Grande. More than 450 Guardsmen from Eastern Oregon fill out the 3rd Battalion.
Citizen-soldiers from Redmond and Woodburn were also placed on alert for possible mobilization.
‘‘Nobody’s been called to active duty at this point in time, and the alert order may or may not become a mobilization order,’’ Idaho Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Marsano said.
Guard units form Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Utah fill out the 116th Cavalry Brigade.
“Because of the changing world situation, we’ve been selected to prepare for a possible deployment to Iraq as part of the next major combat unit rotation. While this is not a full mobilization order, we are taking this very seriously and planning accordingly,” Lt. Col. Dan McCabe, commander of the 3rd Battalion in La Grande said.
Other Guard units place on alert include: New York’s 42nd Infantry Division; the 256th Infantry Brigade from Louisiana and the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment from Tennessee. The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment has about 4,500 members, and 4,000 of them have been placed on alert, according to Randy Harris, spokesman for the Tennessee Army National Guard. The total number of Guardsmen alerted for mobilization is 18,000.
McCabe said the alert order should not be a surprise to Eastern Oregon residents.
“The Guard is, and has been, taking on larger role since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. More and more Guard units across the nation are being called up to serve at domestic and overseas sites. So, I think, in many ways it was simply a matter of time,” he said.
If the 3rd Battalion reaches the full mobilization stage it will be the first time since World War II the entire unit has been placed on active duty and deployed into a combat zone.
As part of the alert, the Pentagon has imposed a so-called ‘‘stop-loss’’ order, according to the Oregon National Guard. The order prohibits most Guardsmen from leaving to end their term of military service, until the order is lifted. The deployment could last up to two years, according to a statement released by state military officials.
The Guard is already shouldering a sizable share of the duty in Iraq. By the end of the current troop rotation, currently in midcourse, more than 40 percent of the troops in Iraq will be Guardsmen. Three Guard brigades — from Arkansas, North Carolina and Washington state — are part of the current troop rotation.
They will spend a full year in Iraq, to be replaced by the newly alerted Guard units, if the Pentagon’s current projection of troop requirements remains steady.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
