HARTFORD, Conn. - Maj. Gen. Thaddeus J. Martin, Adjutant General and Commander of the Connecticut National Guard announces that 30 soldiers from the Headquarters, Headquarters Detachment, 192nd Engineer Battalion of Stratford, have been ordered to mobilize in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A formal send-off ceremony will be held Thursday, August 24, 2006, 5:00 p.m., at the Hartford Armory.
The 192nd Engineer Battalion is headquartered in Stratford and is comprised of more than 300 soldiers with a bridge unit in Putnam, a combat engineer unit in Norwich, a well-drilling detachment in New London and two fire-fighting detachments in East Lyme.
The 192nd Engineer Battalion is one of the oldest units in the Connecticut National Guard that was organized and federally recognized in May 1775.
The 192nd Engineer Battalion is commanded by Lt. Col. James Gibbons of Asbury, New Jersey.
Currently, 40 Soldiers from G Company, 126th Aviation of Windsor Locks and 70 Soldiers from the 143rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) of Waterbury are deployed to Iraq, 120 Soldiers from the 643rd Military Police Company of Westbrook are
deployed to Germany in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and 500 Soldiers from the 102nd Infantry Battalion are deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
One hundred twenty Soldiers from the 1048th Transportation Company of Stratford, 30 soldiers from Detachment 1, 134th Military Police Company of Norwich and 20 Soldiers from Detachment 3, 1109th Aviation Classification Repair Depot (AVCRAD) of Groton are currently mobilized which brings the total number of Connecticut National Guard Soldiers and Airmen mobilized and deployed in support to the Global War on Terror to more than 1,000.
This event is open to the media.