Next Troop Rotation to Consist Solely of National Guard

Posted by Spencer Ackerman, Attackerman at 3:54 AM on May 20, 2008.

Fresh out from the Pentagon: the next Iraq rotation. Notice how it’s all National Guard troops.

The Department of Defense announced today the alert of additional major units scheduled to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The announcement involves four brigades from the Army National Guard.

All four brigades will have a security force mission and be assigned tasks to assure freedom of movement and continuity of operations in the country. Those tasks will include base defense and route security in Iraq and Kuwait.

These deployments will involve approximately 14,000 personnel who will begin deploying in the spring of 2009. They are receiving alert orders now in order to provide them the maximum time to complete their preparations. It also provides a greater measure of predictability for family members and flexibility for employers to plan for military service of their employees.

Specific decisions made by the secretary of defense include:

72nd Brigade Combat Team, Texas National Guard

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard

256th Brigade Combat Team, Louisiana National Guard

278th Brigade Combat Team, Tennessee National Guard

So we’re so thin on active-duty Army brigades that we’re sending reservists to Iraq as our entire spring-2009 force complement. Perhaps by then we’ll have a president who decides that such an Iraq deployment is the last one U.S. forces will make.

Crossposted to The Streak.

Tagged as: iraq, troops, national guard