Photo By John Hughel | Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry...... read more read more
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ASHLAND, Ore. – Nearly 200 Oregon Citizen-Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment were formally mobilized on October 20, 2024, as part of a Multinational Force and Observers Mission (MFO) in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A warm autumn afternoon greeted a large audience of family, friends, co-workers, as well as members of the community attending the ceremony held at the Raider Stadium on the campus of Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Oregon.
“Citizen-Soldiers from Southern Oregon have a rich tradition of stepping up when called upon,” said Oregon Army National Guard Col. Paul Dyer, commander (rear), 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, as the unit members make their final preparations before deployment. “1-186 Infantry proudly represents so many incredible communities from Roseburg to Ashland and I cannot thank the local communities enough for their overwhelming support as the unit continues to add to their storied legacy.”
The unit’s primary mission will be to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ best efforts to prevent violation of any of its terms. The Oregon National Guardsmen will join with Soldiers from other states, and will be rotating into the area of responsibility currently led by the Georgia National Guard.
Addressing the Soldiers and the community as the presiding officer, Brig. Gen. Alan R. Gronewold, Adjutant General of the Oregon National Guard, placed a special emphasis on the unit’s families, “who stand behind you, providing unwavering support and sacrifice,” he said. “Our loved ones are the pillars of our strength, the silent heroes who bear the burden of our absence with grace and resilience.”
Over the past two years, unit members have been preparing for this deployment with extensive preparation and focused training stages. In August the unit returned from one of the most grueling pre-deployment training environments at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson in Louisiana.
“You took on the ‘crucible of all crucibles,’ – JRTC is the Army’s premier training venue, and there you committed yourself to improving as a unit. You went up against ‘Geronimo,’ and from there you excelled,” Gronewold said.
In describing the mobilization, Gronewold stressed the heavy responsibility for providing peace and security in the Middle East during this unstable period of the past year.
“Recent events have reminded us of the volatile nature of the world. The Russian federation seeks to undermine the United States and democracy itself. Your mission to keep the peace and enforce the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty continues the ever important thread for democracy in the Middle East.”
In his remarks during the ceremony, Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Joshua Rapp, reinterred this point about the mission ahead.
"No other mission in the United States Army is quite like the MFO mission,” he said. “It will be a year of great value to every Soldier who deploys and will help shape future leaders of the Oregon National Guard.”
The 1-186th Infantry Regiment has previously mobilized to support both homeland and overseas missions to include: Security augmentation for the 2021 Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C., COVID-19 operational support in Oregon, and federal deployments supporting Overseas Contingency Operations in the Horn of Africa from 2019-2020, in Afghanistan from 2014-2015, and in Iraq from 2009-2010.
“We’re a battalion that is proud of where we come from and where we are going,” Rapp said, noting the unit’s proud lineage. “We welcome any soldier who wants to serve our great nation and the state of Oregon, in an organization that is fully committed to stepping up in its time of need.”
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.21.2024 20:20 |
| Story ID: | 483618 |
| Location: | ASHLAND, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 446 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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