Iowa Army National Guard ‘Ironman Battalion’ receives mobilization orders For Mideast Deployment

To The Press

Soldiers from the Charles City National Guard Armory will be among those being deployed to the Middle East beginning in May.

As part of the Army’s ongoing overseas operations, the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa Army National Guard recently received deployment orders for Operation Spartan Shield.

Known as the Ironman Battalion, the deployment will include about 550 soldiers mobilizing from National Guard armories in Charles City, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City, Iowa Falls, Oelwein and Waterloo.

This is the first of several deployments announced by Maj. Gen. Ben Corell, the Iowa National Guard adjutant general, during his recent Condition of the Guard address to the Iowa Legislature on Jan. 16.

Their primary mission will involve area security and force protection in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility, which encompasses 27 countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

This is the fifth federal mobilization for the Ironman Battalion since 2000, including a nearly 22-month mobilization in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from September 2005 through August 2007.

The battalion’s most recent deployment was to Afghanistan in 2010.

The battalion is currently working to schedule send-off ceremonies, which will occur at the end of May.

The Ironman Battalion will then travel to Fort Bliss, Texas, to complete its final training and readiness checks before deploying overseas. The deployment is expected to last approximately one year.

The Iowa National Guard is experiencing an increase in deployments as a number of its units come into their “mission year” as part of the U.S. Army’s current force generation cycle, according to information from the state Guard office in Camp Dodge.

For the last four years, the battalion, along with several additional Iowa Army National Guard units, have steadily built readiness as they progress through the various phases of the Sustainable Readiness Model cycle.

The Iowa National Guard family services branch is hosting a Joining Community Forces event starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Waterloo Readiness Center, 3106 Airport Blvd., for organizations interested in supporting the northeast Iowa military community.

JCF is an effort to connect the local community with soldiers and their families in preparation for the upcoming deployment.