State: Local Guard members may be activated soon

Local Guard members may be activated soon

The Florida National Guard is contacting more than 1,000 troops to notify them of a possible callup.

By ALICIA CALDWELL, Times Staff Writer

The Florida National Guard has begun contacting more than 1,000 troops, telling them they soon could be called to active duty.

"We hope that they won't have to be mobilized, but this gives them a chance to talk to their employers and get their affairs in order," said Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, a spokesman for the Guard.

The Guard began putting the soldiers on alert Monday, Tittle said. The alert comes at the same time the Army and Marine Corps each announced an increase of reservists on active duty, supporting what the Department of Defense is calling a "partial mobilization."

As of Wednesday, 55,530 reserve and National Guard units were on active duty, an increase of 4,704 over last week, according to a U.S. Department of Defense news release.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Dan Stoneking on Thursday declined to say how many alert notices may have gone out nationwide.

He said those notices shouldn't be looked at as a sign of impending mobilization.

"They don't always come to fruition," Stoneking said.

The alert notices being delivered to the 1,000 Florida National Guard troops are going to foot soldiers, Tittle said, forces that would cover the ground, take over objectives and hold that ground.

"They're what we call boots on the ground," he said.

The troops are with the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 124th Infantry Regiment, which have headquarters in Orlando and Panama City, respectively. They are part of the 53rd Infantry Brigade, which is based in Tampa.

The 53rd is the largest National Guard unit in Florida. It was selected as an "enhanced readiness brigade" and is one of only 15 combat National Guard units in the nation to be recognized as such, according to an Army Web site. The units receive specialized training and have priority in personnel and resource allocation.