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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:
For additional information contact: Roman M. Martyniuk; (609) 530-6950/FAX 530-6963 or Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt at (609) 530-6939
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
 (17 March, 2004)

“Essex Troop” Mobilized

Approximately 200 members of the New Jersey Army National Guard have been mobilized for extended active duty service under Title 10 USC in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the ongoing war against global terrorism.  The troops will be drawn from the 2nd Battalion, 102nd Armor, the historic “Essex Troop”, which is part of the 50th Brigade. The units affected are: Company A, headquartered in Somerset (Franklin Township); Company D, headquartered in Hackettstown; Company C, headquartered in Newton; and Company B, headquartered in West Orange. The Battalion Headquarters is located in Port Murray (Washington Township), Warren County.

 

The Jersey Guard troops are expected to deploy to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to provide security at the Detention Facility housing suspected Taliban and other terrorists from Afghanistan and the Southwest Asia theater of operations. The deployment is expected to last up to 18 months and is part of the 2nd round of rotations of Guard and Reserve units called up in support of Operations Noble Eagle/Enduring Freedom.

 

A “media availability” with troops will be scheduled between April 12, 2004 and May 16, 2004.

 

The “Essex Troop” is one of the oldest and most decorated units in the New Jersey National Guard with battle streamers that include the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy.

 

To date, more than 900 New Jersey Army and Air National Guard members have been mobilized and deployed for extended active duty in support of a variety of Homeland Defense and Homeland Security missions. Jersey troops currently provide security at the state's two nuclear facilities, Fort Dix, Fort Monmouth, Picatinny Arsenal, McGuire Air Force Base, and the Air Guard Base located at the Atlantic City International Airport. Additional citizen-soldiers from the Garden State have been deployed or soon will be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan (Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom), as well as Bosnia and Kosovo (NATO Peacekeeping Mission) in addition of those deploying to Guantanamo Bay.

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