18,000 National Guard Troops Alerted for Likely Iraq Duty

[Dreamer128]

By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Defense Department said on Monday it was alerting around 18,000 National Guard troops from New York, Louisiana, Idaho and Tennessee for a likely call to duty in Iraq late this year or early in 2005.

The advance notification for rotation was being given to provide predictability and planning time for families of the part-time troops with civilian jobs, who would have to serve for a full year on active duty in Iraq, the Pentagon said.

"If needed, these forces would replace deployed units in late 2004 or early 2005," the department said. "The National Guard soldiers being alerted now will be mobilized over the next several months to conduct necessary training prior to deployment."

The U.S. military has been stretched by conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, with nearly 183,000 part-time U.S. National Guard members and military reservists already on active duty in the United States and around the globe.

The Pentagon said units being notified for likely calls to active duty were the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters from New York, the 256th Separate Infantry Brigade from Louisiana, the 116th Separate Armored Brigade from Idaho and the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment from Tennessee.

More than 120,000 U.S. troops are currently being rotated home from Iraq and replaced with about 110,000 fresh Army soldiers and Marines for the current year. Another 11,000 U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan are also being replaced.

But Monday's announcement involved the first of thousands of Guard and Reserve members likely to be called up for a subsequent rotation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pinched by global deployments and conflict, the Pentagon announced in November that it would sharply increase the use of part-time guard members and reservists in Iraq this year.

Defense officials told a news conference at that time that the number of part-time reservists and National Guard troops on the ground in Iraq would increase from 28,000 in November to 39,000 this year.

The increasing use of part-time troops on active duty, sparked by the U.S.-declared war on terrorism in the wake of the 2001 attacks on America, have prompted warnings from members of Congress and others that members of the part-time military would begin to flee the service.

Top officials of the guard and reserves have been struggling to develop rotation plans that would give troops more time between stints on active duty and more advance notice before they are called to duty.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and senior military leaders are also working to rebalance the rosters of active and part-time troops to get more units that are in demand into the active duty military.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

[Night Stalker]

I KNOW! I KNOW!

[WillowIX]

Originally posted by Night Stalker: I KNOW! I KNOW!

Are you preparing for a trip NS? I hope not.