Nearly 3,200 Miss. guardsmen prepare for Iraq

[unhappycamper]

Nearly 3,200 Miss. guardsmen prepare for Iraq
By Holbrook Mohr - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Mar 16, 2009 13:57:06 EDT

JACKSON, Miss. — Nearly 3,200 Mississippi Army National Guard soldiers will mobilize in May and begin their final training for a deployment to Iraq.

This will be the second deployment for hundreds of members of the 155th Brigade Combat Team, which is made up of soldiers from 49 communities in the state, from north Mississippi to the Gulf Coast. The 155th spent 2005 in Iraq in the largest deployment of Mississippi Guard soldiers since World War II.

“The majority of the 155 are combat veterans so they’re walking into a scenario that they’ve seen before,” said Tim Powell, a retired colonel and Guard spokesman. “They’re much better trained soldiers now that they’re combat veterans and they can help take care of those younger soldiers that have not yet been in that situation.”

Units in the 155th have been pushing a buddy system in which the experienced soldiers pair up with those who will be going to war for the first time, said Lt. Col. Jeff Van, a battalion commander who be deploying for the fourth time in his 20-year career. Military brass also has been participating in the “Yellow Ribbon Program” used to brief soldiers and their families on how deal with situations that may arise.

Van, who is heading to Iraq for the third time, said the soldiers are ready for the missions they will face on the battlefield, but it’s the separation from family that’s hard to take.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/03/ap_miss_guard_deploy_031609/%2e