Officials with the Iowa Army National Guard report, that as part of the U.S. Army’s ongoing overseas operational requirements, LeMars-based Troop C, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa Army National Guard, recently received deployment orders for Operation Enduring Freedom in the United States Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM) Area of Responsibility (AOR). U.S. AFRICOM is responsible for U.S. military operations, exercises and security cooperation activities on the African continent, its island nations and surrounding waters.

Guard spokesman Col. Michael Wunn says “This is the second of several deployments announced by Maj. Gen. Ben Corell, the Iowa National Guard Adjutant General, during his Condition of the Guard address to the Iowa General Assembly on Jan. 16, 2020.” Troop C will deploy with approximately 90 Soldiers. They will be joined by approximately 40 Soldiers from Troop A, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, assigned to the Freedom Center located on Camp Dodge in Johnson.

Col. Wunn said also, “This is the third federal mobilization for Troop C since 2001. The troop previously deployed to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2010. For the last four years, Troop C, along with several additional Iowa Army National Guard units, has completed increasingly complicated training events in preparation for mobilization. The troop is currently working to schedule send-off ceremonies, which will occur in June. They will travel to Ft. Bliss, Texas, to complete their final training and readiness checks before deploying overseas. The deployment is expected to last approximately one year.”

The Iowa National Guard is experiencing an increase in deployments as a number of its units come into their “mission year” as part of the U.S. Army’s current force generation cycle.  Additional mobilization announcements are expected in the near future.