BREWER – A group of 170 Maine Army Guard soldiers is preparing to leave in January for an 18-month deployment overseas.

Members of the Brewer-based B Company, 3rd Battalion of the 172nd Mountain Infantry plan to deploy on Jan. 9, 2006, to perform a security mission in Iraq or Afghanistan, Maj. Michael Backus of the Maine National Guard said Wednesday.

The group also will include troops from units in Aroostook County and throughout the state who will serve under the Mountain Infantry command, he said.

“This is the largest [deployment] since this past spring” when more than 100 members of the Augusta-based 152nd Maintenance Company left for Iraq, Backus said.

Guard officials are working to schedule a ceremony with Gov. John Baldacci to present the Mountain Company with a state flag to take with them overseas, Backus said.

The troops plan to report on Jan. 12, 2006, to Fort Dix in New Jersey for mobilization, he said.

The 3rd Battalion is based in Vermont with soldiers also in Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The B Company soldiers, who have special combat training for mountainous terrain and in extreme temperatures, are from all over Maine.

Also preparing to leave in mid-January for an 18-month deployment are 90 members of the 240th Engineer Group out of Augusta. The unit, which oversees engineer battalions, could be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

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