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The 219th RED HORSE Squadron of the Montana Air National Guard has been notified that it will be deployed in the fall of 2010.

The Department of Defense notified Brigadier General John Walsh, the Adjutant General of the Montana National Guard, of the pending deployment.

The RED HORSE designation is an acronym for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron, Engineers. The 124-person unit provides a mobile civil engineering response force to support contingency operations worldwide. The unit is self-sufficient and capable of rapid response and independent operations in remote, high-threat environments providing heavy repair capability and construction support to ensure mission success.

This will be the third full-unit mobilization and fourth overseas contingency deployment since 2002 for the 219th. The active-duty "sister" unit of the 219th is the 819th RED HORSE Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The two units have deployed jointly during each operation and will deploy together again this time. Each
deployment is approximately six months in length.

"The 219th RED HORSE Squadron is a shining example of the Montana National Guard's support of our nation's war fighting efforts overseas," said General Walsh. "This group of Airmen is the best in the business of combat engineering and their previous deployment history will serve them well."