Iowa soldiers land in the Persian Gulf

More citizen-soldiers from Iowa have landed in the Persian Gulf and hundreds more are expected to follow soon. Iowa National Guard officials say the 2133rd Transportation Company, with units from Cedar Rapids, Centerville and Muscatine, arrived in the Gulf region this week. That includes about 150 Iowa soldiers. Guard spokesman Colonel Robert King confirms their assignment, but couldn’t specify where the troops are going to be transporting troops and supplies through the area.The Guard says at least two more Iowa units will be arriving in the area of Iraq this month. They include the 234th Signal Battalion of Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown and Clinton and the 3654th Maintenance Company out of Knoxville, Oskaloosa and Chariton. Combined, those units have 550 members. Colonel King could -not- say how long the Guard members may be gone, but it’ll likely be a while. He says it’s likely none of the units will come home any sooner than after one year. About four-thousand Iowa Guard and Reserve members are now on active duty — in Iowa, in the U.S. or somewhere around the globe.