Oregon National Guard members prepare to deploy to Kosovo
About 400 serve in 41st Infantry Bridge Combat Team's Task Force Jungleer
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- About 400 citizen-soldiers in Task Force Jungleer, part of the Oregon Army National Guard's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, were honored in a mobilization ceremony Saturday in Portland as they prepare to deploy to Kosovo on a peacekeeping mission.
Task Force Jungleer is made up of soldiers from the 41st Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company, with elements of 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
“The 41st is honored to represent the state of Oregon in this NATO’s Kosovo Force mission, contributing to a secure environment and ensuring public safety and order to the people of Kosovo,”41st IBCT Commander Col. Eric Riley told the assembly of soldiers, their families and others.
Speakers at the ceremony, held at the Oregon Convention Center, included Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Oregon National Guard Maj. Gen. Michael E. Stencel, The Adjutant General, Oregon. Task Force Jungleer is the last of the 41st units to mobilize.
The total deployment is the second-largest deployment of the brigade since WWII, following the 2009 Iraq deployment commanded by then-Col. Daniel Hokanson, now a lieutenant general and director of the Army National Guard, who spoke at the event as well.
The 41st IBCT is an organization made up of 3,000 soldiers consisting of five Oregon battalions and two out-of-state battalions from New Mexico and Washington.
The brigade has already deployed four separate task forces around the globe since last September, totaling about 2,300 soldiers, with 1,400 hailing from Oregon.
The 41st Brigade has a rich history protecting its community and country, tracing their lineage back to the 41st Division of WWI and WWII. Soldiers of the brigade are dedicated to accomplishing the assigned missions with the same courage and competence it has always had.
