Iowa National Guard’s mission spelled out

The nearly 3,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers deploying to Afghanistan later this year will integrate into Afghan police and military units to bolster security within the country, according to Col. Tom Staton, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

“The key to winning in Afghanistan is getting the Afghan police and army to stand on their own and provide their own security,” Staton told more than 200 people gathered last night for a National Guard town hall meeting at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

The Iowa National Guard troops, expected to be in Afghanistan by Thanksgiving, will live, work and train with their Afghan counterparts, Staton said.

“If we get it right, this could be our last deployment there,” Staton said.

The Iowa troops, augmented by about 350 members of the Nebraska National Guard, will leave at the end of July for several weeks training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, with more training and testing to follow in California before departing for Afghanistan at the end of October, he said.

Staton stressed that family members, employers and community members are key components of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team and that their support will be crucial to the unit's successful completion of its mission.

“The deployment is hardest on the families. They're doing most of the worrying while the soldiers concentrate on doing their jobs,” said Capt. Garrett Gingrich of Waterloo, a member of Company C, 133rd Iowa infantry.

The mobilization of nearly 3,000 Iowa National Guard troops will be the largest such deployment since World War II.

The town hall meeting was the fourth of seven, with upcoming events slated Thursday in Des Moines, May 4 at Terry Auditorium on the Coe College campus in Cedar Rapids and May 6 in Davenport.