LOCAL GUARD UNITS FACE POSSIBLE
DEPLOYMENT
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
WXCE Radio
The Department of Defense announced The possible deployment of hundreds of
Wisconsin Army National Guard troops this weekend. News of the deployment was
kept secret until yesterday, when the deployment of approximately 18,000
guardsmen and women nationwide was announced. The deployment alert affects
soldiers in River Falls, New Richmond and many areas of western Wisconsin.
The Guard announcing those notified units can expect deployment of at least
18 months, with up to a year of that tour overseas. They are not saying where
overseas those units could be dispatched. One of three infantry battalions in
the 32nd Red Arrow Infantry Brigade was alerted. That unit is the First
Battalion, 128th Infantry and has headquarters in Eau Claire, with seven
units in western Wisconsin. Individuals units alerted include Company A in
Menomonie, Company B in New Richmond, Detachment 1, Company B in Rice Lake,
Company C in Arcadia, Company D in River Falls and units in Neillsville,
Abbotsford and Eau Claire. The Department of Defense has set no official
timetable for deployment or mobilization. If the Wisconsin Guard Infantry
battalion does get mobilized and deployed, it would be the first operational
deployment for Badger State combat units overseas since World War II.
