Local soldiers to deploy with mobilizing Iowa National Guard
The Iowa Army National Guard is mobilizing 390 soldiers based in four Iowa cities for deployment to the U.S. Central Command, which could assign them to Iraq, Afghanistan, North Africa and other regions.
The troops are members of the 248th Aviation Support Battalion, which includes helicopter maintainers, helicopter test pilots, and logistical support personnel.
Jason Hager, of Prairie du Chien, is among the men and women deploying, in addition to Steve Gray and Michael Spring, both northeast Iowa residents who work at Pattison Sand Company.
The soldiers are based in Boone, Muscatine, Davenport and Waterloo, and they represent the Iowa National Guard’s largest single-unit deployment since 2010, according to information Col. Gregory Hapgood Jr., the Guard’s public affairs officer at Camp Dodge, gave the Des Moines Register.
Mainly Iowans, the soldiers will be joined by others from Wisconsin, Louisiana, Maryland and Tennessee. The battalion’s mission is to provide aviation maintenance and logistical support to a combat aviation brigade, an active-duty battalion that includes aircraft diagnostics, repair, maintenance, refueling, medical support, supply support activities, ground maintenance and testing.
Hager said he and his fellow soldiers will travel later this month to a mobilization station at Fort Hood, Texas, for additional training before assignment overseas.
They’ve been told they’ll set up in Kuwait, noted Hager, a 92 Alpha-automated logistical specialist with the Waterloo unit.
The mobilization is anticipated to last one year, Hapgood said. Based on the experience of other Iowa units, the battalion will likely spend about eight-to-10 weeks at Fort Hood and then operate approximately nine to 10 months overseas, he added.
Community send-off ceremonies for the soldiers are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 29. The events are open to the public. Here are the details:
Waterloo: Company A and Detachment 3, Company B: approximately 105 soldiers will be honored at 2 p.m. in the University of Northern Iowa West Gym, 2501 Minnesota St., UNI Campus, Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Boone: Detachment 1, Headquarters Support Company and Company B: approximately 180 soldiers will be honored at 5 p.m. in the Boone High School gym, 500 7th St.
Muscatine: Detachment 1, Company A: approximately 30 soldiers will be honored at 10 a.m. in the Iowa National Guard Readiness Center, 5801 Grandview Ave.
Davenport: Headquarters Support Company and Detachment 4, Company B: approximately 75 soldiers will be honored at 10 a.m. in the Davenport Army Aviation Support Facility, 9650 N. Harrison St.
