the rix mix

Good luck to the Army National Guard's 50th Infantry Brigade, which shipped out from Fort Dix to Fort Bliss, Texas yesterday to prepare for deployment to Iraq.

The brigade's one-year mobilization is New Jersey's largest National Guard deployment to a combat zone since World War II.

About 2,850 of the 3,100 soldiers in the brigade are from New Jersey, earning the group the nickname of "Jersey Blue." The remaining 200 are from the Michigan Army National Guard.

About 30 percent of the brigade has been deployed before, officials said.

They enlisted knowing this day could come. The 50th includes units & detachments from Fort Dix, Freehold, Atlantic City, Mount Holly, Burlington, Cherry Hill, Woodbury, Riverdale, Newark, Jersey City,Vineland, Morristown, Toms River, Lawrenceville, Woodbridge, Dover, Woodstown, Newton, West Orange, Hackettstown, & Somerset. We love you, take care of each other, come home safely, & we're hoping a major hurricane doesn't hit Jersey while you're away. After a summer training in West Texas, maybe Iraq won't seem all that awful. Which is why the Army is sending you there first.

Labels: Iraq, New Jersey