About 175 Iowans will be affected by the decision to add a second year of active duty for some National Guard members and reservists. Colonel Robert King, spokesman for the Guard, says airmen assigned to the 132nd and 185th security force squadrons at Des Moines and Sioux City airbases will be extended an additional year to support “Operation Noble Eagle.” When reserves were first called to active duty following last September’s attacks, the forces chosen to provide support and security on U-S soil were dubbed “Operation Noble Eagle.” Having their service doubled, the first time this has happened since the Vietnam war, will not affect their right to reclaim jobs left when they went on active duty.They’re covered and can get their original job back for five years, under a bill that ensures they’ll get all the benefits, raises and promotions they would have received if they’d stayed home and kept on working at their civilian job. As for those who refuse the callow, saying they can’t or won’t serve a second year, King won’t say they’ll be turned down. About fourteen thousand U-S service people are affected by the extension. When Operation Noble Eagle was first declared, it included 13,000 Air Force, ten-thousand Army, 7,500 Marines, three-thousand Navy, and 2,000 Coast Guard personnel providing support and homeland security.
Iowa's Radio News Network
