175 Nevada Guard troops going to Iraq

Jace Radke

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

After waiting for the past three months to find out where they will be deployed, 175 Nevada Army National Guard soldiers have now learned they will be spending up to 18 months in Iraq beginning this fall.

The 1864th Transportation Company headquartered in Henderson received its mobilization orders Monday, and will support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Justin Wiggins, a former U.S. Marine, is among the soldiers who will be deployed to Southwest Asia.

He said the unit's waiting game is now over.

"When we got the alert earlier in the year we knew we were going, but not where or when," Wiggins said. "This is a load off our minds. It just continues the process for us."

Wiggins said the unit will be busy between now and August, when they are set to go to Fort Lewis, Wash., for up to a month before moving on to Southwest Asia. The exact location where the 1864th will be working was not released, but a National Guard spokesman said it could be anywhere in Iraq, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.

"Everyone can now get themselves and their family together and start getting ready," Wiggins said.

The 1864th's mission is to drive tractor-trailers full of ammunition, equipment and other supplies. While the company's exact location of deployment was not released by military officials, transport trucks are being used throughout Iraq.

Transportation vehicles were targets early in the war. On March 23, 2003, 11 soldiers died and six were captured, including Pvt. Jessica Lynch, when their convoy was ambushed near the Iraqi city of An Nasiriyah. Since then contractors driving trucks have become targets in Iraq.

The deployment of the 1864th could also affect soldiers with the Army Guard's 593rd Transportation Co. in Reno, Winnemucca and Elko. Soldiers from the 593rd could be called to augment the 1864th for the mission, military officials said.

The 1864th has participated in training exercises in North Dakota, South Dakota and Egypt during the past four years.

"This is a training unit, and we will continue to train right up until we find ourselves in-country," Wiggins said.

Another Nevada National Guard unit is also preparing later this year for possible deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan or Operation Noble Eagle in the U.S.

About 450 soldiers with the 221st Cavalry could be deployed as early as this fall, though they have not yet received deployment orders. The 221st is based at the Clark County Armory near Nellis Air Force Base, and drives M1A1 Abrams tanks.

The Army Reserve's Las Vegas-based 313th Military Police Detachment has also been alerted for a possible fall deployment.