Local guard unit to serve a year overseas

AUSTINTOWN — About 160 Ohio National Guard troops from the 838th Military Police Co., based in Austintown, were called to active duty and should be overseas by January 2008.

The U.S. Department of Defense issued an order Saturday to have the company’s members report to Ft. Dix in New Jersey, but it was later changed to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, said Mark Wanda, an Ohio National Guard spokesman in Columbus. The reporting date is Sept. 28.

The outfit will fight the global war on terrorism under Operation Enduring Freedom meaning it could be sent anywhere overseas except Iraq, Wanda said.

This is the first time the company is being deployed overseas.

Because of security concerns, the company’s eventual destination overseas won’t be released until its soldiers are there, Wanda said.

The company will spend a year overseas handling security at fixed locations, convoys and providing assistance to local security forces, Wanda said.

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