A Washington National Guard unit has been told to get ready for possible service in Iraq, the Pentagon said Friday.
The 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team has been told to begin preparation for a possible assignment on federal active duty.
The unit is expected to mobilize in August 2008 and deploy as a security force in fall 2008. The brigade served in Iraq as a combat brigade from March 2004 through March 2005.
It is one of seven National Guard units put on alert for deployment.
The unit is headquartered in Seattle, and it is believed Snohomish County residents are among the 2,800 state soldiers assigned to it, National Guard spokesman Maj. Phil Osterli said.
An alert order just notifies a unit to begin preparation for a possible mobilization, but it does not place a unit on federal active duty, Osterli said.
A mobilization order puts a unit on federal active duty and specifies the mission, equipment needed and area of operations where the unit will serve.
No mobilization order had been issued as of Friday afternoon, Osterli said.
Soldiers would be told about training and deployment dates if the mobilization order is issued, Osterli said.
In addition to the 2,800 Washington members, the 81st includes about 1,000 soldiers from California.
Five of the seven Guard brigades alerted Friday did combat tours earlier in the Iraq war. Two will be assigned as combat units. Those are from North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Four brigades, including the Washington unit, will be used as security forces protecting U.S. bases. One brigade will run prisons.
Taken together, the National Guard deployments total about 18,000 soldiers to replace forces already in Iraq. They do not represent a planned increase in the total size of the force, which currently includes 20 combat brigades and is scheduled to shrink to 15 combat brigades by July 2008, the Pentagon said.
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