More guardsmen
could get callSen. Inouye's office confirms
a third unit could go to Iraq
Another Hawaii Army National Guard unit is being considered by Pentagon planners for duty in Iraq next year.
Mike Yuen, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, confirmed last night the Pentagon might send a third Hawaii Army unit to join two others in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yuen said the third unit, probably from the Hawaii Army National Guard, could be sent to Iraq next year.
Hawaii National Guard officials declined to comment until the Pentagon makes an announcement, a spokesman said.
It was unclear what units were being considered or how many soldiers could be deployed. Possibilities include pilots and crews of the Hawaii Army National Guard's 193rd Aviation, which has 250 soldiers, as well the Hawaii Guard's premier combat unit, the 29th Infantry Brigade, which has 3,000 soldiers.
There are already 62 helicopter mechanics from the 193rd on assignment in Afghanistan supporting the 10th Mountain Division. They are not expected back home until after Christmas.
So far, nearly 8,400 solders could leave the islands next year -- with nearly 4,900 expected to see duty in Iraq.
Alerted on Thursday were 540 members of the 411th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), an Army Reserve unit at Shafter Flats. The battalion has 390 soldiers living in Hawaii. If mobilized, the reservists, commanded by Lt. Col. Jonathan Wung, would leave in March for Iraq.
Several weeks ago, 4,500 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division were told they would be going to Iraq in February for a year. The 2nd Brigade, along with the 1st Marine Division, will replace the 82nd Airborne Division in western Iraq.
They will be followed two months later by 3,500 soldiers from the 25th Division's 3rd Brigade, which will head to Afghanistan for a year.
The Hawaii Army National Guard's key combat unit is the 29th Infantry Brigade, what the Army describes as an "enhanced brigade" -- similar to two mainland units alerted in July for duty in Iraq. The unit is commanded by Col. Joseph Chaves.
A decade ago, 15 of these units, including Hawaii's 29th, were singled out to receive special training and equipment so they could go into conflict within 90 days.
The last time the 29th Brigade was mobilized was in May 1968 for duty in Vietnam. Although the entire unit spent more than a year at Schofield Barracks, it did send soldiers to the war zone as replacements.
