Newton guardsmen headed for Fort Bliss

By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
May 2, 2003
About 170 Newton-based national guardsmen are finalizing plans for their departure to Fort Bliss, Texas, where they will train for a homeland security mission.
The group, which includes half of the Mississippi Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 204th Air Defense Artillery unit, received presidential partial mobilization orders earlier this week.
The servicemen will depart from Newton on Sunday for Fort Bliss, where they will undergo special training related to their mission which will eventually include replacing an active duty air defense battalion currently stationed near Washington, D.C.
At Fort Bliss, the soldiers will train on new equipment upgrades including a new version of the Avenger Missile Defense System.
Powell said they will train there for about three months before traveling to the Washington area.
On Thursday, the guardsmen completed common task soldier training which included nuclear, bio-terrorism and first-aid training.
Powell said they will continue training today before preparing for their Sunday departure.