Guard gets deployment orders
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By Peter Hirschfeld VERMONT PRESS BUREAU - Published: July 1, 2009
After spending much of the last year preparing for a potential mission in Afghanistan, soldiers with the Vermont National Guard learned Friday that the deployment has been made official.
Guard officials declined to confirm the developments Tuesday. However, an e-mail sent to soldiers by the head of the Vermont National Guard – a copy of which was obtained by The Times Argus and Rutland Herald – informed guardsmen and women of the activation orders.
"The secretary of Defense has signed the long anticipated mobilization order that sets the stage for the 86th (Infantry Brigade Combat Team) to deploy to Afghanistan at the end of this year," Adj. Gen. Michael Dubie wrote to an undisclosed number of soldiers.
"… As promised … you are the first to be told of this mobilization order. I will be making a public announcement soon, but I wanted the members of the guard family to be the first notified. Moreover, you will be making history as you embark on the largest single deployment of Vermont National Guard soldiers since World War II."
The news won't come as a surprise to the soldiers. Training for the potential deployment has been under way since the Guard was first placed on alert last April.
Lt. Col. Lloyd Goodrow, director of public affairs for the Vermont National Guard, declined to confirm the activation notice Tuesday. He said only that Dubie had sent an e-mail informing soldiers of a "change in their mobilization status."
He said any information about future deployments would be relayed first to soldiers and their families and then to the public. The Guard has scheduled a press event for Thursday to make an announcement regarding the deployment.
"The adjutant general has promised that if there's any change within the performance status one way or another, that the change would be reported to soldiers and their families before the media," Goodrow said. "So he kept that promise to families."
In April 2008, Dubie said alert orders issued by the Pentagon could send as many as 1,900 Vermont soldiers to Afghanistan sometime in 2010. It's unclear how many soldiers were notified of the activation Friday, or specifically when they'll depart.
"I can confirm that the adjutant general sent a letter stating a change within the mobilization status, but I can't say there's an activation," Goodrow said. "That's a question you can ask Gen. Dubie on Thursday."
Goodrow said it's important that soldiers and their families have time to digest whatever information they received in the letter before the Guard makes any further public announcements.
"A deployment is something that changes people's lives. It takes people away from their families, has a major impact on people's families," he said. "We thought it was very important to give families notification and time to digest the information."
Dubie told lawmakers in February that 1,800 soldiers would likely depart for a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan beginning late in 2009.
"We're just waiting on our mobilization order," he said after a two-hour public hearing at the Statehouse. "We're preparing as if we're going to be deployed."
The deployment would be this state's largest since World War II. Dubie said in February that the mission would send Vermont soldiers to all corners of Afghanistan to train and mentor the Afghan police and army.
The deployment involves members of the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, a 3,500-member unit based in Vermont that draws soldiers from seven states.
Training for the deployment is already well under way. A mock Afghan village re-created in the Guard's Jericho firing range simulates the environment soldiers are likely to encounter on their missions.
Hundreds of guardsmen and women are learning to interact with Afghan leaders and prepare for potential clashes with Taliban insurgents.
During a mock mission Friday, about two dozen soldiers from Vermont fought with a mock sniper after entering the village, made of modified metal shipping containers, while other soldiers played the roles of Afghan insurgents and civilians.
Members of Vermont's congressional delegation issued statements Tuesday in support of the soldiers.
"As the brave men and women of the Vermont National Guard prepare for a potential deployment to Afghanistan, my thoughts and prayers are with them and their families," Rep. Peter Welch said.
"Obviously, my office will continue to do everything we can to support the Vermont National Guard and all American soldiers who serve in Afghanistan," Sen. Bernard Sanders added. "The hopes and prayers of all Vermonters are with them in wishing for a safe tour of duty as we look forward to their return home."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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