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Florida Guard to deploy again

More than 1,200 members will be in a unit going to Afghanistan.

More than 1,200 Florida National Guard troops, including about 200 Iraq war veterans, have begun reporting for up to 18 months of active duty, about a year of it in Afghanistan to help train the Afghan army.

It is the Florida Guard's second-largest callup since World War II, behind the activation of nearly 3,000 troops for duty in Iraq and Kuwait two years ago, said Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, a spokesman at Guard headquarters in St. Augustine.

"The purpose is to help continue training the Afghan national army to help them become professional military troops to protect their own homeland," Tittle said.

Army Guard troops from Pensacola to Key West, all part of the Tampa-based 53rd Infantry Brigade, began reporting to armories last week for medical and dental examinations, equipment checks and other processing.

That procedure will continue for the next two weeks followed by three months of "immersion training" at Camp Shelby, near Hattiesburg, Miss.

Troops will learn Afghan phrases and customs. They will conduct exercises in a mock Middle East community complete with bombed-out vehicles, checkpoints and buildings scrawled with Afghan graffiti.

The Florida troops will form the bulk of a group numbering more than 1,500, also including Guard troops from Nebraska, Tennessee and Vermont, that will replace Indiana National Guard soldiers now in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of Florida Guard troops already have served in Afghanistan and two died there last year, both in vehicle accidents.

The Florida Guard also has lost three members in Iraq, two in combat and one in a Humvee accident.

Some 200 Guard troops who served in Iraq volunteered for the Afghan deployment although they were not being required to participate.

Tittle said he spoke with a volunteer. "He sees a purpose greater than himself," Tittle said. "He wants to make a difference."

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Florida Guardsmen also have been called up for security duty at U.S. airports and Air Force bases. Many Florida Air Guardsmen were activated to fly patrols over U.S. cities.

A peak of 5,200 Florida citizen soldiers were on active duty in 2003, about half of the state Guard's strength. The four hurricanes that hit Florida last year put more strain on the Guard.

The Florida Guard's overall strength has fallen by about 300 troops, Tittle said. One reason is the Pentagon dried up a key recruiting pool by extending enlistments of regular soldiers, who often join the Guard after being discharged, Tittle said.

HURLBURT FIELD - Grumpy 69, a small special operations team of Army and Marines Corps troops, bounced over a rutted road in a pair of Humvees looking for a mock enemy on a dark night. An Air Force AC-130H gunship flew overhead.

The soldiers, Marines and airmen are part of Joint Red Flag, a $15-million, three-week exercise, which continues through Friday. It is designed to train members of all military services in working together in combat.

Live fire training is melded into a war fought with computers, simulators and virtual armies spread over several states.

Hurlburt's 505th Command and Control Wing is overseeing much of the mock combat.

[Last modified March 29, 2005, 01:30:12]