Adjutant General comments

U.S. Military Declares End of Mission in Iraq

The United States Military has officially declared the end to its mission in Iraq. This morning, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta extended words of thanks to the more than one million Service Members who have contributed to Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn since the conflict began in 2003.

Georgia’s Guardsmen in Iraq

Georgia National Guard units deployed more than 40 separate times to Iraq, and more than 6,200 Georgia Guardsmen served in the country. During these combat operations, 28 Georgia Guardsmen gave their lives. 

Georgia infantry and medical units were among the first to mobilize in support of OIF; this month Georgia Guard aviators will be among the last U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq. Among the missions performed by the Georgia Air National Guard was the unique airborne command and control Joint-STARS mission.

The first Georgia Guardsmen arrived in Iraq in January 2003, when the war was in its infancy. In the intervening years, the Georgia Guard has supported U.S. military operations in the region through rapid deployment of infantry, armor, field artillery, aviation, cavalry and engineer combat assets. Combat support units provided valuable augmentation in the form of military police, military intelligence, transportation and supply units. Individual Soldiers and Airmen also volunteered to deploy to Iraq to fill critical functions that could not be addressed through the active component. 

Comment from the Adjutant General of Georgia

"Georgia Guardsmen have been decisive to our Nation's success during the decade of war since 9-11. This is especially true in Iraq, where some of the earliest troops to deploy and some of the last troops out of Iraq were Georgia Guardsmen. Today we remember the sacrifice of our Guardsmen killed in that theater of war; but we also recall with pride the excellent service of our units that helped transform Iraq from a dictatorship to a democracy," said Maj. Gen. Jim Butterworth, the Adjutant General of Georgia. 

Final Thoughts

The Georgia National Guard gratefully acknowledges the overwhelming support we have received from the people of Georgia. We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the service and sacrifice of the family members who stood by our deployed service members. The Georgia Department of Defense has demonstrated its value in combat and domestic emergency operations and we are ready to assist the State of Georgia and our nation as duty calls.

Contact:

1st Lt. William Carraway

Media Relations Officer

Georgia Department of Defense

(404)788-1487

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