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Hawaii National Guard slated for 2008 Kuwait deployment | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Updated at 3:17 p.m., Friday, October 19, 2007

Hawaii National Guard slated for 2008 Kuwait deployment

By William Cole
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Department of the Army alerted members of Congress today that eight National Guard brigades — Hawai'i's among them — are being alerted for planned rotations in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, state adjutant general, announced today that the 29th Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Hawai'i, will mobilize in June and deploy to Kuwait in autumn 2008.

The 29th is the only brigade of the eight that will deploy to Kuwait, Lee said.

Approximately 2,200 citizen soldiers are in the unit in Hawai'i, which also draws from American Samoa, Guam and the Mainland.

Mobilizations are now a year in duration, and any training time in Hawai'i or on the Mainland would be included in that one-year period.

By contrast, the 29th brigade was mobilized for 18 months during a 2005 deployment to Iraq and Kuwait. Six months of training preceded the year of combat duty.

Oklahoma's 45th Fires Brigade, "Red Thunder," will mobilize in June and deploy in autumn of 2008 to augment the Hawai'i National Guard, the Army said.

The Army said more than 20,000 Army National Guard soldiers are being notified to prepare for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The list sent out by the Army also includes the following deployments:

  • The 50th Heavy Brigade Combat Team out of New Jersey, deploying to Iraq in autumn 2008.

  • The 56th Brigade Combat Team out of Texas, deploying to Iraq in autumn 2008.

  • The 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team based out of Washington State, deploying to Iraq in autumn 2008.

  • The 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Pennsylvania, the only Army Guard Stryker unit, deploying to Iraq in early 2009.

  • The 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team out of North Carolina, deploying to Iraq in spring 2009.

  • The 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team out of Illinois, deploying in autumn 2008 to Afghanistan.

    Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.

    Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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