June 15, 2010 - The Madison-based 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment of the Wisconsin Army National Guard will report for active duty Thursday [June 17] in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Nearly 290 Soldiers have spent the past several months training in Wisconsin to prepare for this deployment. A formal send-off ceremony will be held Friday [June 18] at 2 p.m. in Halls C and D at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. Doors open at 1 p.m. Family members and their guests are invited. Food and beverages will be available for purchase during the event.
Soldiers will report to Fort Hood early next week for several weeks of mobilization training, and are expected to spend the remainder of their 12-month deployment in Iraq.
This will be the third tour of duty in the Middle East for the 147th, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter regiment which first deployed a portion of the battalion to Iraq in March 2003. The unit also deployed to Kuwait from July 2001 to August 2002 in support of Operation Desert Spring.
A portion of the 147th also deployed in support of Task Force Eagle, the NATO peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, in July 2006 for a one-year mission. The 147th has played an important role in stateside responses, such as the historic mobilization of National Guard units across the country to respond to Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf coast, and the Wisconsin floods of 2008. In 1998 the 147th deployed to Guatemala for several months following Hurricane Mitch.
Approximately 100 Michigan Army National Guard Soldiers are also part of the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation and will deploy with the Wisconsin Guard Soldiers.
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