RELEASED BY:Lt Col. Greg Hapgood

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER
OFFICE:   (515) 252-4582
CELL:       (515) 971-6385
HOME:     (515) 986-5725

RELEASE: IMMEDIATE

JOHNSTON, IOWA…
 

IOWA SOLDIERS SELECTED FOR SOUTHWEST BORDER MISSION

Approximately 40 Iowa Army National Guard have been selected to take part in “Operation Jump Start,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiative along the southwestern U.S. border.

The Soldiers, made up mostly of combat engineers, construction equipment operators, wheeled- and tracked-vehicle mechanics, and motor transportation operators from throughout the state, will undergo Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP) in early September, before assuming duties in California in mid-October. Once in California, they will assist Dept. of Homeland Security and U.S. Border Protection officials with transportation support; construction of roads, barriers, fences and other structures; and logistical support.

These Iowa Citizen-Soldiers are only providing support capabilities and will not engage in direct law enforcement or apprehension activities. Iowa Soldiers will be in a Title 32 status, meaning they will be federally-funded, but under the control of Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. They will remain on duty in California approximately six to 24 months.

Gov. Vilsack has also approved the selection of a limited number of Iowa Air National Guard personnel to take part in Operation Jump Start. At this time, it is not known how many Airmen will be activated, when they’ll be activated, or where they will be deployed. Additional information will be released in the future as this specific mission develops.

Up to 6,000 members of the National Guard are being deployed along the United States’ 1,300-mile border with Mexico – in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California – in response to President George W. Bush’s mid-May request for the National Guard to help strengthen the border.

Iowa media will have the opportunity to shoot video and photographs of the Iowa Soldiers as they go through Soldier Readiness Processing stations during the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 7, and also conduct interviews with interested Soldiers. For your planning purposes, the majority of Soldiers participating in this mission are from the southeast Iowa area, with a few Soldiers from central and northwest Iowa. See contact information below to coordinate media participation on Saturday.

For questions concerning this news release as well as additional information about the operations, training, and activities of the Iowa Army and Air National Guard, please contact Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, Iowa National Guard Public Affairs Officer by e-mail at gregory.hapgood@ia.ngb.army.mil or (515) 252-4582 (office), (515) 971-6385 (cell), (515) 986-5725 (home), or Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden at (515) 252-4666 (office) or (515) 480-7647 (cell) or by email at duff.mcfadden@ia.ngb.army.mil.

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IOWA NATIONAL GUARD
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