(Host) The commander of the Vermont National Guard says he’s confident that a large contingent of his soldiers will be headed to Afghanistan in the next 18 months or so.
Adjutant General Michael Dubie says it’s possible that the election of a new president could change military commitments.
But given the way the military is organized, Dubie says, it’s nearly certain that as many as 1,900 Vermonters will be deployed in 2010.
(Dubie) "Do I think that the Vermont deployment will go somewhere? Yeah, I do. Because it seems that we’re committed worldwide in a way that the Army needs the 86th Brigade. That’s just the way it is.”
(Host) The deployment would involve about two-thirds of all the members of the Vermont Army Guard.
Dubie says that means the Air National Guard would be responsible for responding to any emergencies in the state during the deployment.
(Dubie) "We’ve already started training the Air National Guard. They are not scheduled to go back to Iraq over this time frame. So we figure we’ll have access to about 1,000 members of the Air Guard for state emergencies.”
(Host) Dubie says there’s some fatigue among Army National Guard soldiers because many of them will be on their second and third deployments when they’re called to duty in 2010.
But he says the soldiers are committed to their mission and are taking the time to plan for the year they’ll spend training for and serving in Afghanistan.