More than 4,400 Idaho National Guard members headed to Germany, Southwest Asia

The Idaho National Guard in the coming months will send more than 4,400 members overseas in support of military exercises and combat operations, Gov. Brad Little announced Monday.

Little mentioned the mobilizations in his State of the State address, delivered on Jan. 7, at the opening of the Idaho Legislature’s 2020 session.

“This spring, the Idaho Army National Guard will mobilize more than 4,000 soldiers to Germany in support of a large-scale exercise to demonstrate U.S. military readiness,” according to Little’s address. “The Idaho Air National Guard will deploy more than 400 airmen to several locations throughout Southwest Asia in support of combat operations. We wish them well and pray for their safety.”

The Idaho National Guard soldiers will be part of Defender Europe 2020, a United States military exercise involving 20,000 U.S. soldiers across 10 countries in Europe, the Army Times reported in October.

Soldiers from the 116th Armored Brigade Combat Team of the Idaho Army National Guard are among those going. The military exercise is expected to be the third-largest military exercise on the European continent since the Cold War, according to Defense News.

Little’s announcement of the mobilizations comes less than a week after the high-profile targeted killing of Iranian military leader Gen. Qasem Soleimani by a U.S. drone strike. In retaliation, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles on Jan. 8, at Iraqi military bases housing U.S. soldiers.

Lt. Col. Chris Borders, the Idaho National Guard’s public affairs officer, confirmed Wednesday those recent events have nothing to do with the Idaho National Guard sending soldiers and airmen overseas. He said the airmen have known about their mobilization for “well over a year.”

“Currently, there are no indicators that our mission will change in light of recent events,” Borders said.