[USMC Chuter]

The Army National Guard is doing the exact same missions the rest of the Army is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not at all uncommon for a National Guard brigade to replace an active duty brigade; pound for pound, same place, same misson. And vice versa.

When I was in Iraq (Ramadi), we had a combat engineer battalion from the Iowa NG that was tasked with clearing IED's from the roads in and around the city. An active duty Army infantry brigade that was tasked with securing/patrolling a major part of the city and surrounding area was replaced by a Pennsylvania Army NG infantry brigade. They, in turn, were later replaced by an active duty brigade. The Army NG cavalry bridade from my home state served in Kirkuk, and was later replaced by an active duty brigade. Once activated, the mission is the mission. Don't let boot camp active duty/reserve criticism fool you. Hell, ask the Army NG Special Forces soldiers from Utah and Alabama if they were left filling sandbags when they deployed..lol