Illinois Guard unit going to Afghanistan to train army
CHAMPAIGN -- The Illinois National Guard will see its largest deployment since World War II when more than 2,700 members head to Afghanistan to help train the Afghan army and national police, the Guard said Friday.
The 33rd Infantry Brigade is one of eight Guard units from across the country being readied for deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan, Col. Alicia Tate-Nadeau of the Illinois National Guard told The Associated Press.
The brigade, which is based in Urbana but whose more than 4,000 members come from across the state, will leave for training as early as next summer and no later than November 2008, Tate-Nadeau said.
Guard units are being tapped more frequently by the Pentagon to help maintain troop levels overseas and ease the Army's load.
The new guard deployment plan will shorten the typical deployment to 13 or 14 months from up to 18 months, according to Tate-Nadeau.
"It is all in an effort to keep the soldiers back here with their family and with their employer as long as possible," she said.
Guard members in the past have trained for up to six months away from home before heading overseas for a year.
More recently, commanders have been training troops for possible deployment a few days at a time during regular training, Tate-Nadeau said. Guard troops will then spend eight or nine months overseas.
"This is something that the Guard as a whole has been asking for," she said.
Some Guard units from Iowa and Minnesota returned home last year after spending just shy of two years in Iraq.
The size of the deployment also is a result of the new guard deployment plan, Tate-Nadeau said. Units are being sent overseas intact, with their own commanders and headquarters, rather than being scattered around in support of other units, as has been done in Iraq.
The United States has about 26,000 troops in Afghanistan, said Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a Pentagon spokesman.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the Pentagon was preparing eight Guard units from Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Hawaii for deployment starting late next summer as part of the new plan.
The 33rd Infantry Brigade is the only unit from Illinois.
Brigade members officially learned Thursday night that they would be deployed. But, because of the new training regimen, most if not all knew well in advance, Tate-Nadeau said.
The 33rd Infantry will be the fifth American unit to train Afghan army and police, Tate-Nadeau said. And, while the its mission will be training, combat is a strong possibility, she said.
"Innately, war is a dangerous thing, so there is a risk associated with all deployments," she said.
Some members of the brigade have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan once or even twice the past six years, Tate-Nadeau said, though she wasn't certain how many.
As of last summer, more than 185,000 Guard members had served in either Iraq or Afghanistan over that period. More than 28,000 had been deployed more than once.
About the unit
Based: In Urbana.
Members: More than 4,000, about 2,700 of whom will be deployed.
Composition: Made up of smaller units from around the state, including armories in Aurora, Bloomington, Carbondale, Champaign, Chicago's Gen. Jones Armory, Crestwood, Dixon, Effingham, Elgin, Galva, Kankakee, Kewanee, Litchfield, Machesney Park, Marion, Marseilles, Mattoon, Mount Vernon, Pontiac, Salem, Springfield, Sycamore, Urbana, West Frankfort and Woodstock.