Illinois Guard deployment is biggest since WWII

[unhappycamper]

Members of the Illinois National Guard, Company C, 2nd Battalion of the 130th Infantry, prepare for deployment in Litchfield, Ill., on Oct. 1. By January, the largest deployment of Illinois National Guard troops since World War II will be in Afghanistan training and supporting a relatively new army and a police force.


Illinois Guard deployment is biggest since WWII
By David Mercer - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 1, 2008 21:22:22 EDT

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The largest deployment of Illinois National Guard troops since World War II is preparing to head to Afghanistan to help battle a growing insurgency, while families ready for life without husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters.

The 2,700 soldiers of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team will ship out this month — some for pre-mission training, others to their posts in Afghanistan, where they will help train the Afghan national police force, said Col. Scott Thoele, who commands the brigade.

“The Afghan army is getting to be a mature organization; the Afghan police is another story,” said Thoele, a 50-year-old Quincy banker. “They are still a fledgling force, and they are going to need the majority of effort.”

Thoele’s troops were called up last fall, among a group of eight guard units from across the country readied for deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan to ease the strain on the regular Army. The brigade is expected to be in Afghanistan for up to 10 months.

This week, Gen. David McKiernan, who leads NATO forces in Afghanistan, told reporters that he needs more troops to battle growing numbers of foreign fighters slipping into that country. McKiernan said more emphasis also must be placed on building the Afghan economy and the sort of police- and army-training the Illinois soldiers are expected to do.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_illinois_guard_100108/%2e