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150 local troops headed to Afghanistan
02/20/2008 08:27:37
Some 70 Illinois National Guard troops from Bloomington and 80 members from Pontiac will be headed to what has been described by presidential candidate Barack Obama as a country "bordering on chaos."
The soldiers are part of the 2,700 member Urbana-based 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team that's going to Afghanistan this summer to help train the country's army and police force. Lieutenant Colonel Tim Franklin tells WJBC's Laughlin and Reynolds, it's the largest call-up of the Illinois Guard since World War Two. During training, he's learned it'll be a challenging mission in a dangerous place.
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The Bloomington soldiers, who belong to a military intelligence battalion, specialize in linguistics and they will be, for the most part, serving as translators.
For at least some, this will be their second tour overseas since the 9-11 attacks.
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