The Vermonters headed to Iraq as part of a Mississippi National Guard combat team will be equipped with fully armored vehicles. Mississippi Adjutant General Harold Cross says the members of the 155th Brigade Combat team will also have the best training available.
The first elements of the 4,000-soldier combat team are scheduled to leave Mississippi for the Middle East within the next few days. The roughly 65 Vermonters with the 155th are due to leave Mississippi for Kuwait on January 12. In Kuwait, the soldiers will receive additional training before being sent into Iraq.