Updated at 3:17 p.m., Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Hawaii Guard unit headed for Iraq is safe
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
Maj. Gen. Robert F.F. Lee, the state adjutant general and head of the Hawai'i National Guard, said the 75 soldiers with the Hilo-based Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation, are now in the Middle East preparing to enter Iraq.
The unit will have 10 Black Hawks and will be assigned to a combat aviation brigade out of Minnesota. The Hawai'i soldiers' higher command will be the 34th "Red Bull" Infantry Division.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team and its Hawai'i Nisei soldiers were attached to the Red Bull Division during World War II, Lee said.
Charlie Company, 1st of the 207th had been training at Fort Sill, Okla., before leaving for the Middle East.
