Guard brigade may go to Iraq

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

About 2,100 members of the Hawai'i Army National Guard could be sent to Iraq sometime in 2005, a military spokesman said yesterday.

Although no orders have been issued, Guard leaders in Hawai'i believe that current U.S. troop rotations will ultimately mean the state's 29th Infantry Brigade will be activated and sent en masse to Iraq, said Maj. Charles Anthony, a spokesman for the Hawai'i National Guard.

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Jerry McAbee also said yesterday that another 350 to 500 Marines from Hawai'i are likely to deploy to Iraq this year.

An additional 400 Army reservists from Hawai'i also would be included in any activation, Anthony said.

The last time the brigade was activated was 1968, when U.S. forces were fighting in Vietnam. But instead of sending troops to fill vacancies in various units, this time the entire brigade would go at the same time, Anthony said.

State legislators, businessmen and military leaders were told of the possible Iraq deployment by Maj. Gen. Bob Lee, head of the Guard in Hawai'i, during an annual military briefing Thursday sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i.

The estimated timing of the deployment — "sometime in 2005" — is based on Lee's instincts and not on a Pentagon schedule, Anthony said.

"General Lee was just looking over the horizon and he said, alright, if we continue to have troop rotations into Iraq, he says the 29th Brigade would get the call," Anthony said.

About 90 percent of soldiers in the brigade are either students or have full-time civilian jobs. They serve one weekend a month and 15 days a year, but if activated for Iraq deployment, their civilian lives would be put on hold.

Other Guard brigades that have been activated nationwide have had about three months official notice, but most knew several months in advance of that, Anthony said.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.