News Washington National Guard may be called up Notice could lead to mobilization Mon., May 16, 2011

OLYMPIA — The Washington Army National Guard’s 81st Combat Brigade got a notice of sourcing recently that indicates some 3,000 soldiers may be called up for another overseas tour of duty. But there’s no indication where or when this could happen. A notice of sourcing is a new process and the earliest word a Guard unit gets about a possible upcoming deployment. It could be followed by an alert order, which would be followed by mobilization order that would have fuller details of a deployment. The 506th Military Police Company, a 50-person unit based in Tacoma, also received a notice of sourcing. Capt. Keith Kosik, a Guard spokesman, said the notice of sourcing has been added to the Pentagon’s notification process since the last time the 81st Combat Brigade was called up, so it’s not possible to say with any certainty how much time can elapse between the notice and an alert order, if one is to come. “It’s certainly not set in stone. We’re being considered as a possible solution to a mission,” Kosik said. “We really don’t know if we will receive an Alert Order.” The brigade has served two tours in Iraq, from March 2004 to March 2005, and from August 2008 to August 2009. The 506th Military Police Company, which was formed in September 2005, was in Iraq from May 2007 to May 2008.

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