More MOB Preparations, and an Article regarding our MOB

I Created and laminated a Cincgars Radio Card.

Here is another newspaper article about our upcoming MOB and Deployment:

155th called to Iraq

National Guard units in Brookhaven, Monticello, McComb, Crystal Springs, Prentiss and Tylertown are among a mobilization of more than 3,500 soldiers of the 155th Separate Armored Brigade in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 155th SAB, headquartered in Tupelo, is comprised of units in 49 locations throughout the state and components will be mobilizing to Camp Shelby throughout the month of August.

"The 155th Infantry Battalion and the 106th Support Battalion should be mobilizing in mid-August," said Maj. Danny Blanton, a spokesman for the National Guard with the 102nd Public Affairs Office. "It'll be very close to the same time frame, within days."

The 155th Infantry Battalion is headquartered in McComb and is comprised of 701 soldiers. Local components of the 155th include Detachment 1 in Brookhaven and Company A of Detachment 1 in Tylertown.

The 106th Support Battalion is headquartered in Monticello and is comprised of 718 soldiers, including Detachment 1's Company A in Prentiss and Detachment 2's Company C in Crystal Springs.

The soldiers will spend three months at Camp Shelby for in-processing and post-mobilization training, Blanton said, before deploying to Fort Erwin, Calif., for a three-week long mission rehearsal exercise.

"Then we'll start making preparations to depart," he said.

The brigade was called up as part of a Presidential Partial Mobilization of Reserve Forces to support operations in Iraq. Under partial mobilization orders, reservists can be activated for 24 months, but that period can be extended or shortened depending on the needs of the Army, Blanton said.

"It's flexible one way or the other depending on the needs of the theatre commander," he said.

Generally, Blanton said, units called up are asked to serve for 12 months in theatre. Therefore, he said, the unit is expecting to be mobilized for at least 18 months, which includes the training time at Camp Shelby prior to their departure for Iraq.

In a press release, Gov. Haley Barbour, commander in chief of the Mississippi National Guard, praised the men and women of the brigade and promised to guard the home front while they are deployed.

"These are highly trained soldiers, and I know they will do an excellent job supporting our national defense," he said. "Marsha and I wish them well, and we certainly stand by all of them and their families."