LITTLE ROCK — Another group of Arkansas National Guardsmen will mobilize this weekend for deployment, bringing to more than 400 the number of state troops on active duty.
That overall number is considerably less than during some previous years, but still represents about half of the state’s 77th Theater Aviation Support Brigade.
About 130 soldiers with the 77th’s Headquarters Company will head to Fort Hood, Texas, on Sunday for final training before deploying to Iraq. Two other 77th companies are already in Iraq.
About 130 soldiers with 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment, left for Iraq last month. That deployment includes two companies of Black Hawk helicopters and crews.
About 60 soldiers with two other 77th units are finishing the last few months of a yearlong deployment to Kosovo. Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, flies Black Hawk helicopters as an air ambulance detachment. Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 114th Aviation Regiment, is providing security and support.
About 25 soldiers with the 77th’s maintenance unit headed to Kosovo last month.
In addition to the 77th, the Arkansas National Guard has a 60-member Agriculture Development Team of soldiers and airmen in southern Afghanistan.
Arkansas, Pages 16 on 02/18/2011