Idaho guardsmen heading to Iraq

BOISE – More than 2,700 members of the Army National Guard in Idaho, Montana and Oregon will be sent to Iraq for a yearlong deployment this fall.

The members of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team will go to Camp Shelby, Miss., for about two months of training starting Sept. 17 before heading to Iraq for the remaining 10 months of the deployment, Col. Tim Marsano said.

About 1,500 of the soldiers are from Idaho, and about 400 of those are from North Idaho, Marsano said.

The U.S. Department of Defense notified the Idaho National Guard last fall that as many as 3,500 guardsmen could be deployed to Iraq this year. The Pentagon has since decided it does not need that many soldiers from the 116th, Marsano said.

Associated Press