Utah troops gird for call-up

Utah National Guard and Reserve members are intensifying their preparations in case of a mobilization in a possible war against Iraq.

The momentum toward war continued to escalate Thursday as the White House said it possesses solid evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and rejected Baghdad's denials, saying they have no credibility.

If a call-up happens, as predicted by Pentagon officials, the newly activated men and women would join about 800 Utah Guard and Reserve members who are already serving on active duty, both in the United States and overseas.

Lt. Col. Brad K. Blackner, public affairs officer for the Utah National Guard, said Thursday that over the past month, Guard members have been making sure their personnel records are up to date, including information on training. They are receiving briefings and maintaining their overall high level of readiness, he said.

"Probably in the last 30 days we've stepped up our efforts to ensure that our soldiers are ready," Blackner said.

Depending on what sort of units are mobilized, the logistics efforts could be huge.

"We just have to ensure that the chemical suits are in working order, and the protective masks are updated and in working condition," he said.

If President Bush orders an attack against Iraq, the Pentagon has plans to summon to active duty roughly as many reservists as it did during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when about 265,000 members of the National Guard and Reserves were called up.

During the Desert Shield-Desert Storm action against Iraq more than a decade ago, Utah National Guard units called up included a water purification unit, military police, military intelligence and Special Forces. The Guard no longer fields the military police group, but the others conceivably could be called upon.

Linguistics experts are part of the military intelligence unit. According to a Pentagon listing, five members of the Guard's Co. A, 142 Military Intelligence Battalion, Detachment 4 — based in West Jordan — are already in active service.

"We had our 489th Engineer Unit activated," Blackner added. Orders arrived alerting them to activation on Nov. 18, and they will be federalized on Jan. 3, 2003.

Since the orders arrived, the unit has been making sure its equipment is serviceable and personnel records are up to date.