The Global War on Terror

The terror attacks on September 11, 2001 changed the future of the Maine Army National Guard in ways that it would have been hard to foresee at the time.  The two ensuing conflicts prompted the largest deployments of Maine Guard personnel since World War II.  Since 9/11, 2,995 men and women from the Maine Army National Guard have deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait in both combat and support roles.  Whole units have deployed in mass formations (such as the 133d Engineer Battalion in 2003) and individuals have deployed as volunteers.

As combat rotations for National Guard Soldiers drop down to pre-9/11 levels, the Army is beginning to collect the data from a decade of conflict.  This page will continue to evolve as the research compiles more and more data.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

- 112th Medical Company – 135 personnel, February 2003 (Iraq, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- 1136th Transportation Company – 145 personnel, April 2003 (Kuwait)

- 152nd Field Artillery Forward - 124 personnel, February 2004 (Iraq, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- 133rd Engineer Battalion – 504 personnel, March 2004 (Iraq, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- 152nd Maintenance Company – 190 personnel, April 2005 (Iraq, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- Task Force Saber – 7 personnel, June 2005 (Iraq)

- G-126th – 5 personnel, August 2005 (Iraq)

- Bravo Company, 172nd Infantry (SECFOR I) – 170 personnel, March 2007 (Iraq)

- Detachment 1/169th MP Company – 37 personnel, September 2007 (Iraq)

- Charlie Company 1/126th Aviation Medical – 127 personnel, March 2008 (Iraq)

- OSACOM – 6 personnel, October 2008 (Iraq)

Operation Enduring Freedom

- OSACOM Det 14 - 6 personnel, March 2003 (Afghanistan)

- E-120th Air Traffic Support – 15 personnel, July 2003 (Afghanistan)

- Afghan National Army Training Team – 11 personnel, November 2003

- Afghan National Army Training Team II – 5 personnel, May 2005

- 240th Engineer Group – 82 personnel, May 2006 (Afghanistan, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- Embedded Training Team – 16 personnel, April 2008

- Forward 39 Embedded Training Team +2 – 2 personnel, April 2008

- 286th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion - 81 personnel, March 2009 (Afghanistan, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- Bravo Company 3/172nd Infantry Battalion – 157 personnel, February 2010 (Afghanistan, Valorous Unit Award)

- 1136th Transportation Company (SECFOR) – 173 personnel, April 2010 (Afghanistan, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- Charlie Company 1/126th Aviation Medical - 83 personnel, March 2012 (Kuwait)

- 1968th Contracting Contingency Team - 4 personnel, March 2012 (Afghanistan, Bahrain)

- 488th Military Police Company - 101 personnel, July 2012 (Afghanistan, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- OSACOM Det 14 - 8 personnel, February 2013

- Headquarters and Headquarters Company/Forward Support Company, 133d Engineer Battalion - 156 personnel, August 2013 (Afghanistan, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

- 1035th Engineer Detachment (Survey and Design) - 13 personnel, August 2013 (Afghanistan, Meritorious Unit Commendation)

Operation Spartan Shield

-       Detachment 3/Company A/2^nd Battalion, 641^st Aviation (Theater) – 7 personnel, 2016-2017 (Kuwait)

Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (Afghanistan)

-       HHD, 120^th Reserve Support Group (detachment) – 35 personnel, 2017-2018 (Kabul, Afghanistan)

-       Company G (MEDEVAC), 3^rd Battalion, 126^th Aviation – 86 personnel, 2018-2019 (Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan)

Deterring Russian Aggression

In 2018, the Maine National Guard deployed Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 286^th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (68 personnel) to Poland and Eastern Europe in support of NATO operations to deter Russian aggression and strengthen partnerships and alliances. The 286^th supported the U.S. forward deployed armored element in Poland and ran missions across the region. It returned in 2019.