Appropos of an entry in today's H&I Fires post about National Guard Brigades rotating back into Iraq...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 5, 2007
No. 07-04535th DIVISION TO DEPLOY TO KOSOVO IN 2007; ADDITIONAL TROOPS ON ALERT FOR IRAQ
Approximately 200 soldiers of the 35th Division, headquartered in Leavenworth , will deploy to Kosovo later this year to become the headquarters unit for Task Force Falcon, a multinational peacekeeping force. The 35th Division includes soldiers from Kansas , Missouri and Illinois .When the 35th Division soldiers mobilize in July 2007, they will go to Camp Atterbury , Ind. , for additional training before deploying to Kosovo for their year-long mission in the fall of 2007.
“The soldiers of the 35th Division served admirably as peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina back in 2003,” said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the adjutant general. “Domestically, they served as the headquarters down in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, where they managed more than 15,000 soldiers and airmen from a number of National Guard units. These soldiers are capable, enthusiastic and dedicated to their mission of preserving freedom at home and abroad. I know they’ll take on this latest mission with that same degree of professionalism.”
Once in Kosovo, the 35th Division will become part of the Balkans Nine peacekeeping mission. The task force will include approximately 1,500 soldiers from the U.S. Army active component, Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
For its last deployment in 2003, the 35th Division was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award. Training for the Operation Enduring Freedom mission began in 2002 with approximately 1,500 soldiers from 23 states. The division assumed authority in Bosnia on March 23, 2003. Coinciding with NATO force reductions, the division entered the Bosnian mission as a Multi-National Brigade consisting of 1,500 U.S. soldiers and another 1,700 soldiers from NATO and other nations participating in the Bosnian peacekeeping mission. These included battalion size units from Russia , Turkey , Spain and Poland , and a tank company from Denmark . They completed a successful tour of duty in September 2003.
Iraq Deployments in 2008
The 35th Military Police Company, in Topeka is now alerted for deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit will leave within the next few months to begin training at Fort Dix before arriving in Iraq . They will take approximately 170 Soldiers, their entire company, with them. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 635th Armor will complete filling any positions that might remain.
Two other Kansas National Guard Units are on alert for a potential deployment to Iraq . Additional information will be released on the units and their deployment dates once military orders are received. Currently, approximately 850 Kansas National Guard soldiers are serving in Iraq . There are no Kansas Guard units in Kosovo at this time.
