Department of Defense

For Immediate Release                                                                                           December 19, 2011

HAWAII ARMY NATIONAL GUARD’S 29th INFANTRY BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM WILL NOT DEPLOY AS ENTIRE BRIGADE

KALAELOA, HI-  Major General Darryll D.M. Wong, State Adjutant General, has announced that the Hawaii Army National Guard’s 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) will not be mobilized as an entire brigade in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013. The 29th IBCT received a Notification of Sourcing (NOS) in April of 2011 and was told to prepare for a possible deployment to Afghanistan. However, recently, the 29th IBCT received a change to its NOS.

The change is considered an “off-ramp” or cancellation to a pending mobilization for the majority of the 29th IBCT, which includes its organic infantry battalions from Arizona (1-158th) and Guam (1-294th). The 29th is still sourced to provide a battalion-sized or larger unit for deployment to Afghanistan in early 2013. The remaining units from the 29th IBCT will be placed in the Contingency Expeditionary Force pool and were told to continue preparing for a possible deployment in 2013. The brigade’s Soldiers from Hawaii, Arizona and Guam have been notified by their commands over the last several days.

This level of uncertainty is being experienced by Army National Guard units throughout the nation as the military reduces troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Notification of Sourcing does not constitute an official “alert”, mobilization, or decision to deploy, but it’s the military’s method of communicating to a unit that it should vigilantly prepare for a deployment. Until an actual “alert order” is approved by the Secretary of Defense, there is still a possibility that the NOS units will not be mobilized or deployed.

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For more information, contact:

Lt. Col.  Charles Anthony

Public Affairs Officer

Office: (808) 733-4258

Email: [email protected]