Local National Guard unit receives orders to report on Monday

Expect to see a flurry of activity at the Indiana National Guard Armory in Linton starting Monday morning.

Members of Alpha Company of the 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment C of the Indiana National Guard based in Linton have received confirmed mobilization orders.

They will report to the Linton Armory on Monday to begin final preparations for deployment to an undisclosed foreign war zone, according to Staff Sgt. Richard Bladen.

Bladen said the 130-150 members of Alpha Company will report early Monday morning and will work approximate eight hour shifts through Wednesday.

He said they will be making sure everyone's paperwork is completed, identifications are verified, duffelbags and supplies are packed, and guns and ammunition is checked.

"We've been preparing for this build up and want to make sure everything checks out," Bladen said.

The troops will then depart the Linton Armory by bus at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday for Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center at Edinburgh. They will train there until Dec. 22 when they will be granted leave to be with their families over the Christmas and New Year's holidays until Jan. 2, 2008.

On Jan. 2, a special send-off ceremony for the entire 3,400 members of the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is planned at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Gov. Mitch Daniels and Major General R. Martin Umbarger, commanding officer for the Indiana National Guard, will be the keynote speakers.

"That's when they are going to say their good-byes and there will be tears and so forth," Bladen, who is charge of recruiting for the I-151, told the Greene County Daily World on Wednesday afternoon.

The troops of the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will be Indiana's largest single Guard deployment since World War II.

They have been split into 21 security companies, with roughly 120 soldiers to a company.

The Guard troops' task upon arrival in Middle East region is expected to include defending bases, protecting supply convoys and guarding detainees. Aside from the security companies, the Indiana contingent includes several hundred command and support staffers.

After the ceremony, part of the unit will depart for Fort Stewart, Ga., and others will return to Camp Atterbury for final training before also going to the Georgia military base before departing overseas, Bladen said.

"We are going to be going somewhere overseas," Bladen said. "Somewhere in the fight against terrorism is where we will be."

He continued, "They've been trained for this for quite awhile. They're ready. Nobody wants to leave their families, but they recognize the mission."

Camp Atterbury is a Power Generation Platform (PGP) for the mobilization of U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard units. It is the camp's responsibility to coordinate medical and dental screening, soldier readiness processing, theater-specific clothing and equipment issue, weapon familiarization and qualification, theater-specific individual readiness training, and coordinate movement of personnel into the areas of operation.

The facility, located north of Columbus, receives, processes, equips, trains, and deploys personnel based on deployment orders.

Sgt. Bladen said officials are trying to coordinate a local community send-off program for the National Guard troops some time next week. More details will soon be announced.

He did say that members of the Bloomfield American Legion Post No. 196 will put together a motorcycle group to escort the National Guard bus from Linton to Camp Atterbury next Thursday morning.

This is the second deployment for Alpha Company in the last four years.

The unit comprised of soldiers from Linton and Vincennes armories, were deployed for 13 months from December 2003 to February 2004 serving in Iraq and Jordan.

Bladen said approximately 75 percent of the current unit participated in the previous deployment.

The Family Readiness Group is planning a Children's Christmas Party for family members of the National Guard troops on Sunday, Dec. 16 at the Linton Armory.

The party, which will feature a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, will be held from 2-4 p.m.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Kristie Bladen (384-0273), Judy Killion (268-3651), Sandy Childress (442-7785), or Tara Swick (268-5630).