Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — Iowa National Guard Major General Stephen Osborn used this year’s “Condition of the Guard” speech to explain why Iowa Guardsmen are deployed to Syria and honor the two Iowa soldiers killed there a month ago.
Osborn says the loss of Staff Sergeants Nate Howard of Marshalltown and Edgar Torres-Tovar of Des Moines is felt deeply within the Iowa Guard.
Over 1,800 Iowa Guard soldiers and airmen are currently deployed to the Middle East. The two Iowans who were killed, and three others who were wounded, were among about 250 soldiers from a Boone-based unit assigned to a counter-terrorism mission in Syria.
The Sioux City-based 185th Air Refueling Wing has nearly 200 Airmen deployed in the Middle East and has supported the “Operation Hawkeye” strike missions President Trump ordered against ISIS in Syria as retaliation for the ambush that killed the two Iowans.
Osborn says the National Guard is no longer a strategic reserve deployed only during state or national emergencies, but it’s now the primary combat reserve for the U.S. Army and Air Force.
Over 80 soldiers from the 734th Regional Support Group, which is based on Johnston, will deploy to Poland this summer.
Osborn told lawmakers the Iowa Guard has currently filled over 100% of its authorized slots and retained 82% of soldiers who had the choice of leaving the Guard or re-enlisting last year.
KIWA Staff Photo
