YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington National Guard’s 81st Brigade Combat Team has been deployed twice to Iraq. And, the Defense Department put the brigade’s 3,000 Washington soldiers on notice two months ago they could be tapped again soon.
The unit has not received deployment orders, but it has been training for combat this summer at the Yakima Training Center.
The News Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/qzn1zt ) the soldiers are learning about weapon upgrades on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The 30-ton tracked vehicles carry cannons and machine guns.
Weapons firing sometimes ignited brush fires that the soldiers had to douse.
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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com
