Across the United States, far too little is known of the great sacrifices that members of our National Guard – and their families – have made in recent years, the sacrifices they continue to make, and the sacrifices that will be required of them in the future, unless dramatic changes are not made in National Guard deployment policies.
Maine’s National Guard – which numbers over 3,100 Soldiers and Airmen/Airwomen overall – has greatly contributed to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Since September 11, 2001, approximately 3,000 members of Maine’s National Guard (both Army and Air) have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, with a further 700 expected to deploy over the next two years. Eight members of the Maine National Guard have given their lives in OEF and OIF and numerous others have suffered physical and psychological wounds.
Read the full report here.
Return to the Deployments ArchiveToday is the sixth anniversary of the start of our most recent war in Iraq. News reports marking the occasion will no doubt note that combat deaths are now lower than at earlier stages in this war — a silver…
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