Tuesday, January 12, 2010

500 more 32nd Brigade Soldiers return to Wisconsin Wednesday


January 12, 2010: Approximately 500 Soldiers from the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team will return to Wisconsin Wednesday (Jan. 13).  Two flights will arrive Wednesday. The first flight includes Soldiers mostly from the 32nd Military Police Company, Milwaukee and Oconomowoc; the 1158th Transportation Company, Beloit and Black River Falls; and some members of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 32nd Brigade. The second flight includes Soldiers mostly from Troop B, 105th Cavalry, Watertown; Troop C, 105th Cavalry, Reedsburg; and some members of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 32nd Brigade.

The entire brigade is returning to Wisconsin in stages throughout January. All are scheduled to return to Volk Field where they will be met by senior National Guard officials, a military band and family members — homecomings are not open to the general public. Following an initial reunion with their families and a brief official "welcome home" ceremony, Soldiers will travel to nearby Fort McCoy to begin about five days of demobilization processing before being released from active duty.

During training and while in Iraq, the brigade was organized into 27 company-sized units. Rather than operating as a brigade, the 32nd was tasked with a variety of missions throughout Iraq. These missions included forward operating base administration, base defense, area security, quick reaction forces, freedom of movement security support, detainee guard force operations at theater internment facilities, closing the largest internment facility in Iraq, transferring detainees, operating an academy to train Iraqi corrections officers, inspecting detention facilities, securing and administering the International Zone in Baghdad, and turning over U.S.-controlled properties back the government of Iraq. The brigade's Soldiers operated around the clock, most of them working at least 12 hours a day — day after day, week after week, for eight full months in Iraq.

Having accomplished their mission, each company began transferring responsibilities to units from the Texas National Guard's 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team at the end of December and will continue to do so as they prepare to return to Wisconsin in January. (For a detailed account of the 32nd Brigade's deployment see: http://dma.wi.gov/deployment )

Returning Soldiers of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team on Wednesday may come from units in the following Wisconsin communities:

Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team — Camp Douglas
32nd Military Police Company (-) - Milwaukee

Detachment 1, 32nd Military Police Company — Oconomowoc
1158th Transportation Company (-) - Beloit

Detachment 1, 1158th Transportation Company - Black River Falls
1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Target Acquisition)

Troop B, 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry - Watertown Troop C,
1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry - Reedsburg

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