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TRAINING FOR LOCAL GUARD UNITS
Friday, January 2nd, 2009 -- 12:27 pm
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
About 3,500 Wisconsin National Guard troops, including dozens from our area, are preparing for several months of training in Florida and Texas, ahead of an Iraq deployment expected to last about 10 months.
It will be the largest deployment of National Guard troops since World War II.
Troops are scheduled to leave for Florida on Jan. 10 for several weeks of training. Then they return to Wisconsin until mid-February, when they'll head out for more training at Fort Bliss in Texas.
After that they'll head to Iraq for a tour of duty that will last about 10 months.
The 32nd Brigade is made up of units in 36 Wisconsin communities, including Neillsville, Eau Claire, Wisconsin Rapids, Mosinee, Marshfield, Stevens Point, Abbotsford and Arcadia.
The U.S. Defense Department says the brigade will have a security force mission.
There will be a send-off event from 6 p.m. to midnight, Saturday at the Neillsville American Legion.
There will be a silent auction and sweepstakes to cover the cost of the event. Anything left over will be used to put together care packages.
Olson says the public will be able to help out, too.
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