Georgia National Guard prepares for busy year, possible deployment

ALBANY — The roughly 13,000 guardsmen in the Georgia National Guard have a busy year ahead of them, including a training schedule to prepare for possible deployment while continuing with the roots set by Lord James Oglethorpe upon his arrival to Savannah in 1733 when he established the guard.

National Guard soldiers have served extensively in the War on Terror. More than 200 are currently deployed, and 3,000 more are pending deployment — including members of the 48th Infantry Brigade.

The Guard’s joint stationing map shows sites throughout the state, including in Albany, Tifton, Valdosta, Thomasville and Cordele. The Albany site, home to the 148th Brigade Support Battalion that is part of the 48th Brigade, is headquartered within Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany.

Desiree Bamba, media relations coordinator for the Georgia National Guard, said a deployment is possible toward the end of the year or early next year. In order to prepare, joint readiness training is expected to begin next month.

“Funds have been set aside, and (we will be) training as if we will be deployed. It is just a matter of when the deployment will be,” she said.

The Guard is, as Public Affairs Specialist Army Sgt. Amy King said, a “constant training force” that works to stay on top of training and technique. As part of that effort, the Associated Unit Pilot Program that was fully implemented last year allows guardsmen to interact more with active-duty units to combine assets and enhance readiness in the event it is needed.

“It drastically reduces the training time should these units be called on,” King said.

Bamba said Exercise Noble Partner, a joint NATO exercise in the country of Georgia as part of an effort to handle Russia aggression, will start up in August.

She added that the Georgia National Guard has not yet been tasked to help patrol the United States-Mexico border as part of a security mission announced by President Trump earlier this month, but that it is on standby to respond.

“It is a mission we are ready for if called upon,” Bamba said.

The Georgia Department of Defense includes 10,956 Army guardsmen, 2,896 air guardsmen, 565 in the State Defense Force and 493 state employees. Those figures indicate that 74 percent of Georgia’s guardsmen are represented by the Army.

Seventy-six percent of the Georgia DoD is made up of Army Guard enlisted soldiers, 10 percent are Army Guard officers, 2 percent are Army Guard warrant officers, 10 percent are enlisted Air Guard and 2 percent are Air Guard officers. Thirty percent of full-time military personnel are Army active Guard reserve and 17 percent are Air active Guard reserve.

There are armories in 55 Georgia counties, and 765 were deployed last year. There is $480 million in federal funds brought into the state, $11.5 million is the amount Georgia funds the DoD and there is $5.9 million in state income taxes from the Georgia DoD payroll.

In the timeframe from July 20, 2003 to Aug. 17, 2010, 42 Georgia National Guard soldiers had fallen in service — most of them in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jennifer Parks