Guam Army Guard soldiers return home today

About 30 soldiers of the Guam Army National Guard will be arriving today, Nov. 19, after six months of being deployed to the Southern Philippines.

The soldiers, who are with the 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment, will be flying in today from Honolulu via Continental’s Flight No. 1.

The group was originally scheduled to return home Nov. 18. They were in the Philippines in support of Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines.

The soldiers had stopped over at Andersen Air Force Base on Nov. 5 on their way to Hawaii, where they were demobilized. During the short stopover, the soldiers were greeted by members of the Guam Army and Air Guard, family members and friends at the Guam Air Guard’s 254th REDHORSE building on Andersen. Several leaders of the Guam Guard, including Lt. Gov. Mike Cruz, commander of the Medical Command, were present to greet them.

The Guam National Guard’s Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Donald J. Goldhorn, met with the group in Hawaii. He had also visited them in the Philippines last month.

The Guam National Guard is a partner with the Republic of the Philippines in the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program.

The 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry also has another company, Team Alpha, currently deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terror. The unit, approximately 180 soldiers total, deployed to Afghanistan early February and is scheduled to demobilize in Hawaii in late November.

The Guam Reserve also has a 14-man Embedded Training Team deployed to Afghanistan to assist in the training of the Afghan National Army and Police. The team deployed to Afghanistan in February and is set to demobilize at Fort Riley, Kansas in late November.

There are 18 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment, who are deployed with Hawaii ’s 29th Brigade Combat Team to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and are scheduled to demobilize next August.

Additionally, the Guam Reserve has 14 soldiers augmenting the 33rd BCT from North Carolina for approximately 18 months. They are still participating in Mobilization Station training at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, before heading to Afghanistan this month. This team will be providing a variety of duties to include the Task Force Engineer commander, personnel support, logistics support, medical support and security forces.

There are also six Guam soldiers currently deployed with the 39th BCT out of Arkansas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, who are scheduled to return this December.

Today, there are about 200 Guam Army Guard soldiers and 18 Air Guard airmen deployed abroad in Afghanistan and Iraq.[B][I] (PR)[/I][/B]