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PHOENIX — Arizona National Guardsmen, including soldiers from Sierra Vista and Huachuca City, are being called up for security duty in Iraq, according to a Guard spokesman. President George W. Bush has federalized the 259th Security Force Company for up to 545 days in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Maj. Gen. David P. Rataczak, adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard. An initial element of 25 soldiers, of the 170 being called up, is scheduled to depart this morning, said Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Aguirre. The remainder of the company is scheduled to...

Company is 2nd in Guard to be cited this war Under a slightly scorching Friday morning sun, with a few family members and about 20 fuel trucks as witnesses, 133 men and women in the 2222nd Transportation Company of the Arizona Army National Guard received the Meritorious Unit Citation from the Department of the Army. These soldiers weren't charged with fighting the war from camouflaged Hummers or flying missions in the prestigious Blackhawk helicopters, though they were responsible for making sure those vehicles got around safely. The work of the 2222nd involved delivering fuel and water to the vehicles in...

FORT HUACHUCA - There's Rocket Man and Smokey Sam. One is a human, the other isn't. Guess which is which. On Friday, Rocket Man launched Smokey Sam. Rocket Man, actually two Air Force noncommissioned officers, were firing small simulated surface-to-air missiles near C-130 aircraft as part of a threat site training program. On a hill on Fort Huachuca's East Range, Master Sgt. Rick Karlslyst and Staff Sgt. Greg Dunlap set up a battery of six pretend SAMs. Cargo aircraft from Puerto Rico Air National Guard, Marine Reserve and Belgium Air Force units flew by during the aircrew's flight training on...

News Cop Fired While On Active Duty Wants Job Back By Terry Groover TIMES RECORD • TGROOVER@SWTIMES.COM A former Mulberry police officer who was fired while on active military duty says he wants his job back, and the U.S. Department of Labor has agreed. However, Mulberry Mayor Jeff Marvin says Jerry W. Cunningham cannot return to work as a Mulberry officer. Cunningham, who is serving near Baghdad with the 39th Infantry Brigade, was fired from the Mulberry Police Department on June 24, 2003. At the time, Cunningham was on active duty with a National Guard unit and was serving Homeland...

Spc. William Miranda, left, assists Spc. Pinael Roamel to don more than 85 pounds of gear, which must be worn by firefighters when responding to an emergency. Both Soldiers are assigned to the 215th Engineering Detachment, attached to the 1st Cavalry Division. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Benjamin Cossel U Army Firefighters Protect Camp Taji Soldiers play a pivotal role as first responders to a variety of situations on Camp Taji in Iraq. U By Cpl. Benjamin Cossel 122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Housed in an unassuming concrete structure, the remnant of a prior regime,...

 Public Affairs Sep. 16, 2004 Surgery gives Iraqi boyability to live normal lifeStory by Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Boyer and Capt. Edward Cappellano, Task Force 2-108 Photo courtesy of Task Force 2-108 Sadjed, with his mother, a few days after surgery that allowed him to extend his leg again.  Logistical Support Area Anaconda, Iraq - After lengthy discussions, a badly injured four-year-old boy received life changing medical treatment to enable him to walk for the first time. The boy was first noticed in May 2004 by 1st Infantry Division Soldiers of Company B, Task Force 2-108, New York Army National...

Balad Recon An M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank from Bravo Company, 185th Armor, 81st Armor Brigade, conducts an area reconnaissance around Balad, Iraq on Sept. 6, 2004. The area recon is to deny anti-Iraqi forces the freedom to operate and move throughout the countryside. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo llllllllllllllll Members from Bravo Company, 185th Armor, 81st Armor Brigade, prepare for an upcoming area reconnaissance around Balad, Iraq on Sept. 6, 2004. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo llllllllllllllll U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Nicholas Moran platoon commander for Bravo Company,...

Operation Grizzly Forced Entry U.S. Army Cpl. James Robinson, a communications operator with Company A, 579th Engineering Battalion, contacts the headquarters element, while other company members perform a house search during Operation Grizzly Forced Entry, Aug. 21, 2004. Operation Grizzly Forced Entry was a battalion-sized cordon, search and seizure mission to capture high-value targets who have launched attacks against Logistics Support Area Anaconda, Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Scott Reed llllllllllllll  U.S. soldiers from Company A, 579th Engineering Battalion, secure a rooftop during Operation Grizzly Forced Entry, Aug. 21, 2004. Operation Grizzly Forced Entry was a...

  Cobra Sweep cleans up Baghdad district By Pfc. Erik LeDrew Soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division and Iraqi National Guardsmen escort a military working dog team to a suspected building to search for explosives during Operation Cobra Sweep.Pfc. Erik LeDrew BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 4, 2004) – A cordon and search operation of abandoned apartment buildings suspected of containing explosive materials took place July 28 in Baghdad’s Hay Muthana district. In the last three weeks, more than four large improvised explosive devices were detonated near a traffic circle in the district, which led to the suspicions. The...

Thom Shanker's story in the Sunday New York Times explores how post-9/11 commitments will require a rethink of the National Guard and National Reserves in defese planning: The National Guard and Reserves must be fundamentally revamped if they are to carry the growing burden placed on them in support of the administration's military strategy, according to many commanders, Pentagon officials and respected national security experts. With hundreds of thousands of these citizen-soldiers having deployed in the combat zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, and others engaged in missions related to the global campaign against terrorism overseas and here at home, these...

The 150-member 1221st Transportation Company has been reassigned from its hauling duties to providing security for convoys operated by defense contractor Kellogg Brown & Root.

This Guard Officer who recently returned from Iraq saying the action was sadly planned and carried out first conspired with the Kerry campaign and then the Democratic Party and ultimately gave the party "SPIN" to President Bush's Saturday radio address. This is well documented in New York Times May 2, 2004 edition headlined "National Guard Officer Offers Criticism Of Bush's Iraq Plans" by Anthony Ramirez. Research of the many stories indicates that "this Officer" is now in Manhattan but that his former unit was Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, Florida National Guard. I don't know what either the...

Task Force Phoenix Welcomes Oklahoma Guard By U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert R. RamonCombined Joint Task Force Phoenix KABUL, Afghanistan, April 8, 2004 — The C-17 Globemaster III made its way to the end of the runway before coming to a stop. As the door opened, soldier after soldier made the trip out of the red-lit interior into the darkness of Afghanistan, and for most, it was their first time here.This was the scene recently at the Kabul International Airport, when during a recent three-day span, approximately 350 soldiers from the Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade, 1st Battalion,...

The Army alerted an Arkansas National Guard unit yesterday that it will probably be deployed to Iraq by April to help fight the continuing war in that country. The 39th Infantry Brigade from Little Rock would leave between February and April, according the Department of Defense. The deployment would last a year. The 30th Infantry Brigade based in North Carolina would also be deployed under the same order. A battalion from the 41st Infantry Brigade would join the 39th Infantry Brigade. The 39th is an enhanced light infantry brigade that is trained to act as a strategic reserve in the...