09-20-2010, 10:40 AM
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PW Enlightenment
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: in the natural state
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116th to leave Gowen Field for Iraq
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Mixed emotions reigned among soldiers of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team at a sendoff picnic at Gowen Field on Thursday.
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Preparing to embark on the brigade’s second tour in Iraq, soldiers at the event had no doubts Thursday that the unit would be well-trained and prepared to take on the challenges of full-time service in a still-tumultuous part of the world. But those won’t be the only challenges they face. MORE
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La Grande, Oregon **
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For the second time in six years, the local community will bid farewell to citizen-soldiers bound for Iraq.
The Oregon National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry, a part of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat team, leaves Tuesday for a two-month training stint at Camp Shelby, Miss. Following training, it will deploy to the troubled Mideast nation. ...The battalion will gather for the official mobilization ceremony at noon at Eastern Oregon University’s Community Stadium. The public is invited to attend.
“This is the final send-off,” said Capt. Chris Kerr, the 3/116th’s adjutant. “All 537 soldiers will be getting on those buses. They’re soldiers not just from here but all over the region.” ...“We’ve got people coming in from The Dalles and all along the I-84 corridor,” he said.
Myers said that near Ontario, Oregon riders will hand off the lead to escort riders from Idaho. The escort will accompany the buses all the way to Gowen Field.
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Col. Guy Thomas with the Idaho National Guard says the men and women of the 116th will leave Gowen Field on Sept. 17.
They will have about two months of training in the U.S. at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. The soldiers are then scheduled to leave for Iraq in November.
Once they are deployed overseas, the soldiers will have about 10 months of "boots on the ground" at various locations in Iraq.
Of the 2,700 soldiers being mobilized, about 1,500 are from Idaho. The others are from Oregon and Montana.Idaho National Guard to deploy to Iraq this fall | KTVB.COM | KTVB.COM | Boise, Idaho news
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With the smaller population here, everyone knows someone who is going. Many or most are related to someone who is being deployed. 
God bless you, men and women who are leaving your families far behind for awhile so you can keep me safe!
__________________
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- Winston Churchill
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