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LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- More than 700 National Guard and reserve members are due to return to Utah from overseas during the next four months. Meanwhile, 1,900 Utah citizen-soldiers have been put on notice that they may mobilized.
Two Utah units received such notifications this week.
About 150 National Guard soldiers from 148th Field Artillery batteries, located in Logan, Brigham City and Camp Williams, along with their parent unit, the 116th Calvary Brigade, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, were put on alert that they could be deployed. Nearly 3,500 soldiers from 14 states were alerted as part of the 116th, the National Guard said.
In addition, the Utah Guard's 128th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, based in Draper, was mobilized this week, the Guard said Tuesday. It has 10 members who will consolidate with a Colorado unit to deploy this May.
"We've anticipated the call would come at some point," said Sgt. Patterson of B Battery for the 148th. "We've been training, for 20 years in my case, to do whatever is asked of us."
The B Battery 148th Field Artillery Battalion, made up of soldiers from Logan and Brigham City, will remain on schedule for training exercises this summer at Fort Irwin in California.
"For the majority of us, if this happens it will be our first opportunity to be called into a theater of operations," said Patterson. "You don't ever feel totally prepared, but do I feel confident in the skills I have and the guys that I go with have? I do."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
