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Guard Unit Called To Afghanistan

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By BILLY HOUSE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 4, 2007

WASHINGTON - Florida's largest National Guard unit, which includes several companies and batteries from the Tampa Bay area, has been alerted that it is to be deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.

The 3,400 soldiers of the 53rd Infantry Brigade will "assume battle space in Afghanistan" to perform a range of operations starting in the summer of 2009, the Pentagon announced Monday.

More than 1,200 members of the brigade, with headquarters in Pinellas Park, returned from an active-duty tour in Afghanistan as recently as mid-2006.

Three of the brigade's battalions had been mobilized in December 2002 and deployed as part of the initial Iraq push in the spring of 2003, said Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, spokesman for the Florida Army and Air National Guard.

"You're going to have mixed feelings on this," Tittle said of the Pentagon's announcement. "This impacts not just the soldiers going off and taking care of the country's needs. This brings everybody - family and employers, too - into the situation. But we know we have a mission to do."

They will begin the preparation during unit assemblies and annual training.

Exactly how many of the affected soldiers will be making a second or even third tour in 2009 could not be determined Monday because some members of the brigade have left and others have since joined up.

The Pentagon made its announcement - given to brigade commanders over the weekend - far in advance to give soldiers time to undergo training specific to Afghanistan and to allow family and employer planning.

Entire brigades are being sent to theaters of war based on the Pentagon's opinion that they work more effectively when kept together.

The Pentagon said that troop levels in Afghanistan continue to be "conditions-based" and are on the recommendations of military commanders in Afghanistan and in consultation with the Afghan government.

Until recently, the deployment of a guardsman or reservist for one year in Iraq or Afghanistan - the standard tour length for the Army - would usually entail up to 18 months on active duty.

But a new Pentagon policy calls for a maximum of 12 months for a mobilization period, with the goal of five years at home before the next mobilization.

The 48th Infantry Brigade combat team from Georgia also has been alerted that it will be sent in the summer of 2009 to Afghanistan to concentrate on training Afghanistan national security forces.

Together with the Florida group, about 7,000 service members have been told they will deploy in summer 2009.

The 53rd Infantry Brigade deployed more than 1,200 soldiers in June 2005 to Afghanistan. They served for a year to help train the Afghan National Army through the Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix.
Tittle said three of the brigade's infantry battalions, consisting of nearly 1,800 soldiers, were mobilized and deployed in December 2002. They became part of initial combat operations into Iraq by the spring of 2003. Some soldiers with infantry and specialized skills from other Florida Army National Guard units also were transferred to be deployed along with that group.

"We expect these same battalions will be included in any future mobilizations of the brigade," Tittle said.

HEADING TO AFGHANISTAN

The 3,400 soldiers of the 53rd Infantry Brigade will be sent to Afghanistan starting in the summer of 2009. The brigade's units are:

•53rd Special Troops Battalion (Pinellas Park, Lake City)

•53rd Support Battalion (St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Tampa)

•1st Battalion, 124th Regiment (Miami, Hollywood, West Palm Beach, Cocoa)

•2nd Battalion, 124th Regiment (Orlando, Sanford, Leesburg, Eustis, Haines City)

•1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry Regiment (Panama City, Tallahassee, Pensacola, Chipley, Bonifay)

•2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery Regiment (Lakeland, Bartow, Dade City, Winter Haven)

•53rd Special Troops Battalion (Pinellas Park, Lake City)

•53rd Support Battalion (St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Tampa)

Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@tampatrib.com.

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