Send-off planned in Brewer for Guard soldiers going to Iraq

BREWER – A group of 170 Maine Army National Guard soldiers will receive a warm send-off next week as they head out for an 18-month deployment to Iraq.

A ceremony recognizing the soldiers will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, at Jeff’s Catering on Coffin Avenue. The event is open to soldiers’ families and the public.

Gov. John Baldacci and Maj. Gen. John “Bill” Libby, head of the Maine National Guard, are scheduled to speak. The ceremony will include a presentation of the state flag to the unit.

The unit is commanded by the Brewer-based B Company, 3rd Battalion of the 172nd Mountain Infantry. It also includes members of the 133rd Engineer Battalion of Gardiner, the 1136th Transportation Company of Bangor, the 169th Military Police Detachment of Bangor, the 152nd Maintenance Company of Augusta, the 286th Petroleum Supply Battalion of Bangor and the 152nd Field Artillery Battalion of Caribou.

The soldiers will conduct security force operations in Iraq, ranging from base security to convoy operations. In December, the unit received training at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Vermont to prepare for the deployment. After next week’s ceremony, the soldiers will report to Fort Dix, N.J., for mobilization.

Area students, the city and local eateries also are chipping in to recognize the soldiers, according to Skip Chappelle of Operation Community Support. Students at the Penobscot Job Corps Academy in Bangor made nearly 100 yellow ribbons that will be displayed in Brewer storefronts next week, he said.

The businesses plan to offer a 24-hour discount to the soldiers and their families before the deployment, Chappelle said. The families also will receive bumper stickers that read “Thank you, 172nd Mountain Co.,” and are imprinted with the city’s and unit’s seals, he said.

Brewer municipal vehicles will bear the stickers, as well, to show support for the unit, Chappelle said.