500 Utah Guard members prepare in case of call-up

More of Utah's National Guard and Reserve members are preparing for a possible war with Iraq.

So far, more than 1,300 of the state's part-time military personnel have been called to serve, many of them overseas in Afghanistan or patrolling the no-fly zone above southern Iraq. Others are providing security in the United States.

They are part of a call-up nationally that amounts to more than 56,000 Guard and Reserve personnel as of Wednesday.

This weekend, 500 of Utah's Guard members not yet notified are going through preparations to make sure they are ready if called.

"We do this every year," said Lt. Col. Brad Blackner, Guard spokesman. "Normally we don't do it with this many people at one time."

They will take physicals, get shots and check on whether they need spare eyeglasses. The Guard's adjutant, Maj. Gen. Brian L. Tarbet, "wants to get them ready to go, before they go," Blackner said.

Another group will undergo similar preparations in a week or two.

The latest activation is that of up to 231 more members of the Utah Army Reserve's 172nd Medical Battalion, stationed in Ogden.

"They are to report to their reserve home station on Jan. 17," said Claude D. McKinney of the Reserve's 96th Regional Support Command, Fort Douglas. They will travel to Fort Carson, Colo., to be processed into active duty as of Jan. 21.

"Further movement and assignment of these soldiers has not been released at this time," McKinney said in a written statement. "These orders are initially for 365 days."

The 172nd Medical Battalion handles the supply of medical products and maintenance of associated equipment.

Also, up to 41 Army Reserve soldiers from the 87th Legal Support Organization, Fort Douglas, will be reporting to the same stations and at the same times as the 172nd, he said.

According to the Pentagon, as of Wednesday these Utah National Guard and Reserve units and individuals had been mobilized:

• Marine Corps Reserve, F Co., 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, based in Salt Lake City, 90 members.

• Marine Corps Reserve, Peacetime Wartime Support Team, Salt Lake City, 3 members.

• Utah Army National Guard, 115th Engineer Detachment, Camp Williams, 57 members.