HOMETOWN - A local National Guard unit has received word that it will be deployed to the Middle East this fall.
Sgt. Matt Jones, a media specialist for the Pennsylvania National Guard in Harrisburg, confirmed that more than 60 soldiers based at the Hometown Armory will be deployed to Kuwait on what is called a "contingency mission" and are scheduled to be shipped out sometime in October.
The soldiers of Company C, 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry, the National Guard unit in Hometown, will be part of the Heavy Combat Brigade Team, according to Jones. He originally was told they would be deployed as far back as January 2011. The mission was moved to January 2012 and then to September.
The same unit has been sent a number of times to fight the war in Iraq, including its last mission in 2009, according to Jones.
Due to the unrest in the Middle East, Jones said Kuwait is considered a stronghold that warrants U.S. troop presence.
The team began training for the mission and has finished the pre-mobilization process, according to Jones, and is ready for the mission.
Another National Guard unit based in Hazleton, Alpha Troop, 2nd Squadron, 104th Cavalry, will join the 56th Striker Brigade Combat Team that is scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan sometime in early 2014, Jones said.
