MEDIA ADVISORY: Adjutant general to speak about 9/11

  

September 2, 2011

Contact:  Lt. Col. Jackie Guthrie

Office: 608-242-3050 or Cell: 608-516-1777

 

 

MEDIA ADVISORY: Adjutant general to speak about 9/11
Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office

 

Maj. Gen. Don Dunbar, adjutant general of Wisconsin and commander of the Wisconsin National Guard, will be available to speak to the media about the Wisconsin National Guard and the 10 years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on Wednesday, Sept. 7 from 9-10 a.m. in Witmer Hall at the Wisconsin National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, 2400 Wright St., Madison.

 

The Sept. 11 attacks on America had immediate and long-lasting effects on the Wisconsin National Guard. Shortly after the attacks, the Madison-based 115th Fighter Wing began patrolling a large portion of the Midwestern skies in what became the Airspace Sovereignty Alert mission. Volunteer aircrews and KC-135 stratotankers of the Milwaukee-based 128th Air Refueling Wing were aloft on Sept. 12, refueling fighter jets on patrol in support of what would soon be dubbed Operation Noble Eagle, when virtually all civilian air traffic was grounded by order of the federal Aviation Administration. Additional members of the 128th Air Refueling Wing volunteered to deploy overseas on Sept. 20, 2001 to support U.S. military operations. The Milwaukee/Oconomowoc-based 32nd Military Police Company was ordered to supplement airport security operations at airports in Milwaukee and Madison beginning Sept. 27. Wisconsin National Guard troops from other units took over this assignment Oct. 13 in what would become Operation Noble Badger, ultimately augmenting security at nine Wisconsin airports.

 

By March of 2002, approximately 550 115th Fighter Wing personnel, nearly 250 128th Air Refueling Wing personnel, and about 50 members of the Volk Field-based 128th Air Control Squadron were on active duty for Operations Noble Eagle or Enduring Freedom. As many as 125 troops from various Wisconsin National Guard units — most from the 32nd Infantry Brigade — were on active duty supporting the airport security augmentation mission of Operation Noble Badger. As emphasis transitioned from Afghanistan to Iraq, demand for Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers and Airmen would dramatically increase. Approximately 14,000 Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have been called to active duty in support of the global war on terror — including the historic deployment of the entire 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Iraq in 2009. Many Wisconsin National Guard members have deployed more than once.

 

- 30 -

NEWS DIRECTORS AND EDITORS: Please RSVP to Kelly Bradley no later than noon on Tuesday (Sept. 6) at 608-242-3055 or kelly.j.bradley@us.army.mil

 

Current News Releases and Media Galleries