Guard Unit To Depart For Iraq In November

September 23, 2004

The Tennessee Army National Guard's 278th Regimental Combat Team will depart for Iraq sometime after Veterans Day, according to spokespersons for the unit.

Some 4,000 soldiers strong, the 278th is Tennessee's largest National Guard unit. It has 30 armories stretching from the Tri-Cities in Upper East Tennessee to Jackson in West Tennessee, with one of those armories located in Scott County. Several dozen members of the 278th are also from Scott County.

Members of the 278th learned earlier this year that they would be deployed for active duty to Iraq. The unit departed in June for Camp Shelby, Mississippi, where they have been undergoing training operations.

Sometime within the next few days - before the end of the month, according to spokespersons for the guard - the 278th will leave Camp Shelby for Fort Erwin, California, where they will undergo a month of training at the Army's National Training Center in the Mohave Desert before moving back to Camp Shelby in readiness for deployment overseas.

Upon arriving back to Camp Shelby, final preparations will be made before the November departure. A send-off ceremony has been scheduled for Veterans Day, which falls on Thursday, November 11. The unit will board ships bound for the Persian Gulf sometime after that date. it has been widely speculated that the unit will ship out on the weekend following Veterans Day, though Tennessee Army National Guard spokesperson Randy Harris said that the unit hadn't received its final deployment orders.

Major David Willis, the acting regimental operations commander for the 278th, told the Chattanooga Times-Free Press last month that the 278th would be replacing the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq.

The 278th Regimental Combat Team was formerly known as the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The new title was received after several units were added, changing the overall complexion of the regiment. The 278th will revert back to the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment once its duty in Iraq has been completed and its members return stateside.

news@ihoneida.com

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