Call-ups again lift Utah troop count

Utah's part-time members of the military who are on active duty or about to be mobilized now total more than 3,000 — and a new wave of call-ups should push that number to near pre-Iraq war totals.

This second round of mobilizations is intended to give troops in the Middle East a chance to rotate back to the United States. Five hundred Utah National Guard soldiers from Salt Lake and Utah counties are slated to leave for a Fort Carson, Colo., training base in January as part of the call-ups.

Fifty Army Reserve members were also mobilized recently and are leaving this week for Fort

Carson. Apparently they are listed among the most recent Pentagon figures, while the 500 National Guard members are not.

During the buildup to the war with Iraq, the number of the state's National Guard and Reserve troops who were mobilized totaled 3,971. As of this week, according to Pentagon figures released Wednesday, the number had dipped to 2,752.

Counting the 500 from the National Guard, Utahns now or soon-to-be mobilized number 3,253. They are among approximately 178,000 of America's Reserve and National Guard members who are on active duty.

Officials have previously observed that, per capita, more Utah reserve forces have been deployed than any other state. "We do not consider this an unfair burden but a great honor," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said recently.

The Utahns are in the following units:

• Utah Army National Guard: 1st Battalion 211th Aviation Group, 489th Engineering Detachment, 116th Combat Support Engineers, 115th Engineer Group, 300th Military Intelligence Brigade, 141st Military Intelligence Battalion, 142nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 1457th Engineer Battalion, 19th Special Forces, 640 Regiment, State Area Command Headquarters, 145th Field Artillery.

• Army Reserve: 360th Infantry 3rd Battalion, 172nd Medical Logistics Battalion, 934th Forward Surgical Team, 872nd Ordnance Disposal Company, 117th Chaplain Detachment, 356th Battalion 2nd Regiment, 395th Finance Battalion, 155th Adjutant General Company, 200 Medical Detachment, 307th Quartermaster Battalion, 419th Transportation Company, 438th Military Police Detachment, 478th Personnel Services Battalion, 50th Military History Detachment, 786th Quartermaster Company, 87th Judge Advocate General Corps, 96th Regional Support Command, 8th Battalion 104th Regiment, Army Facility Engineering Group, 854th Quartermaster Detachment.

• Air Force Reserve: 419th Fighter Wing (4four members), 151st Air Refueling Wing.

• Naval Reserve: 4th Marine Division, Defense Contractor Support Team, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic Detachment 120.

• Marine Corps Reserve: 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Company F 2nd Battalion 23rd Marine Regiment.

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