Beginning the first week in May and continuing through the end of the month, approximately 300 New Jersey Army National Guard Troops will deploy for extended active duty service at New Jersey’s three major Army installations: Fort Dix, Fort Monmouth and Picatinny Arsenal. The citizen-soldiers come from the 50th Main Support Battalion headquartered in Teaneck; the 5th Squadron 117th Cavalry headquartered in Vineland with additional units in Dover (Morris County), West Orange, and Woodstown; and D Battery, 112th Field Artillery headquartered in Cherry Hill. These mobilizations are part of the Homeland Security mission known as “Operation Noble Eagle.”

The need to provide additional security at these installations is directly related to the ongoing global war against terrorism. The extended deployment of large numbers of active duty troops for military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and the continued deployment of US Forces in Bosnia, Kosovo, Korea, and elsewhere has resulted in greater numbers of National Guard and reserve troops being activated for service both here in the Garden State and for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Guardsmen selected to participate in this Installation Force Protection (IFP) mission received special training at Fort Drum, New York or Fort Dix to better prepare them for their new mission.

There are approximately 7,000 Army National Guard troops in New Jersey stationed at 32 armories and installations in 20 of the state’s 21 counties. In recent years, National Guard troops from New Jersey also have been tapped to serve as part of the NATO peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and to provide support to many other missions across the globe.

Since September 11th, more than 1,700 troops have been mobilized for various Homeland Defense or Homeland Security missions. Guard troops have been called upon to provide additional security at the Hudson River bridges and tunnels, area airports, nuclear power plants, and other key infrastructure throughout the state.

The 253rd Transportation Company headquartered in Cape May Courthouse is currently deployed to Southwest Asia (Persian Gulf) in support of the 101st Airborne Division. The 444th Public Affairs Detachment and the 150th AG Company have been deployed to support mobilization activity at Fort Dix. Earlier this year, as a result of an historic agreement between the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs and the Secretaries of the Army and Air Force, troops from the 5th Squadron 117th Cavalry also were deployed to bolster security at McGuire Air Force Base and the Air Base at the Atlantic City International Airport.