Stories

Approximately 130 soldiers from the 186th Military Police Company will return today from its recent deployment to Ira. A homecoming ceremony for the returning soldiers is scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines.

Not all eyes are on Tuesday’s upcoming election, in particular those of the approximately 310 Iowa National Guard soldiers and their families and friends, who said their goodbyes at sendoff ceremonies across the state Thursday.

To help support the ongoing war effort in Afghanistan, approximately 310 Iowa National Guard soldiers have been ordered to federal active duty by the Department of Defense and the National Guard Bureau.

Per request from the state of Louisiana, an additional 220 Iowa National Guard members have been sent to Louisiana to help out with Hurricane Gustav recovery efforts. Members will join the 245 Iowa guardsmen who already left for Louisiana Sunday, thus raising the total number to approximately 465.

As part of a national effort, the Iowa National Guard sent 245 guardsmen to Louisiana Sunday to help residents brace for Hurricane Gustav and the impending aftermath, the Des Moines Register reported:

About 500 people gathered to say goodbye to 65 Iowa National Guard members during a send-off ceremony at the Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo Tuesday.
“We’ve known this day has been coming for a long time. Today’s the day. T minus zero,” Scott Blakesley, who has been in the National Guard for 16 years, told KCRG [...]

In the wake of multiple deployments to war theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan, officials have been concerned about the Iowa National Guard’s readiness at home. These concerns were met head-on with the recent flooding in Iowa, which Gov. Chet Culver claimed was the biggest natural disaster in Iowa’s history.

“The response to the floods was a [...]

Multiple deployments to Iraq by Iowa’s National Guard have not only taken their toll on the wear-and-tear of unit equipment needs, but servicemen, their families and their employers have felt the strain – physically, mentally and economically – as well.

These shortcomings have not gone unnoticed by one Iowa congressman

In the wake of the House’s approval [...]

About 250 members of an Iowa Air National Guard unit, the 132nd Fighter Wing, will be deployed this week to support troops in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced this week. The deployment is the 132nd’s second since Operation Iraqi Freedom began, and they are expected to spend about two months in the Persian Gulf [...]

Thanks to the efforts of Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, Iowa National Guard members will have one less thing to worry about when they return from deployment.