Tennessee guardsmen to return to Iraq
Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, Tennessee?s adjutant general, announced Friday that 299 soldiers from the 1175th Transportation Company will deploy, but the location of their deployment and exact date were not released.
The three units that make up the 1175th are based in Tullahoma, Brownsville and Jacksboro. The company headquarters is in Tullahoma.
The heavy equipment transportation company deployed to Iraq in 2003 and is expected to serve about one year overseas, said Randy Harris, Guard spokesman.
Harris said the company?s deployment was not related to President Bush?s recent announcement for a surge of additional troops into Iraq and Afghanistan.
Two soldiers from the company died during their last deployment.
This deployment brings to more than 11,200 soldiers from the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard activated since Sept. 11, 2001. Tennessee has about 14,000 Guard members, the seventh largest in the nation, Harris said.
The latest deployment was announced as the Tennessee National Guard works to recoup an array of equipment left behind when other units returned to the United States.
Harris said that Tennessee is short about $600 million worth of equipment left behind in Iraq, up from previous estimates. Harris said the equipment was mostly tanks and Humvees used by the Knoxville-based 278th Regimental Combat Team.
It wasn’t yet clear if the 1175th Transportation Company would be using their own equipment during the deployment, Harris said.
“We feel confident that when they will go into theater it will be with the appropriate equipment,” Harris said.
It hasn?t been revealed if other National Guardsmen will be redeployed to Iraq.