Augusta guard group heading overseas

AUGUSTA – A Maine Army National Guard unit based in Augusta is being mobilized for deployment in support of the war on terrorism, according to a guard spokesman.

The 80 members of the 240th Engineer Group are receiving mobilization orders this week and are preparing to leave in mid-January, Maj. Mike Backus, a spokesman for the Maine National Guard, said Wednesday.

The unit, which oversees engineer battalions, could be sent to Iraq, Afghanistan or the areas between the horn of Africa and Central Asia, he said.

One of the group’s battalions, the 133rd Engineer Battalion, was stationed in northern Iraq from early 2004 until early this year.

As the deployment was announced, Maj. Gen. John “Bill” Libby, who heads the Maine National Guard and Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, returned Tuesday night from a trip to Iraq where he visited the 100-plus members of the 152nd Maintenance Co. stationed in Baghdad. Libby left for Iraq on Saturday.

“He wanted to connect with his soldiers over there and see how they were doing and get their input while they were over there, kind of keep his thumb on the pulse,” said Backus.

Members of the 240th had been scheduled for deployment when the 133rd left last January, so the latest orders did not come as a surprise, Backus said.

“The few that I know of … have been excited to go,” Backus said. “They had not gone before, and they’re kind of anxious to go.”