"It was so special to be able to personally deliver this good news to our servicemembers who have been serving in Iraq. I am very honored to have had the opportunity to thank them in person for their service and wish them well as they start their journey home," said Senator Collins. "The 133rd has provided much needed support to the Iraqi people, all branches of Iraqi Security Forces, and multi-national coalition forces. They have served together bravely and with compassion for the Iraqi people, they have suffered devastating losses and they have saved lives. Our country owes them great gratitude, and I join the State of Maine in welcoming these heroes home."
The 133rd Battalion is a unit that includes members of the Maine and New Hampshire Army National Guard. In Maine the unit is headquartered in Gardiner. It has about 500 members currently mobilized in support of military missions both in the U.S. and overseas.
In Iraq, the 133rd has been responsible for tracking all areas of military and civilian operations engineer missions, tracking clearance operations, minefield database upkeep, and contracting infrastructure improvement projects. The battalion provided humanitarian relief to Iraq citizens in the form of computers, schools supplies, food, and clothing throughout the Irbil and Dahuk Provinces. In addition, members of the 133rd helped to implement mass casualty response plans for Camp Marez in Mosul, which resulted in at least six lives saved at the facility from three mortar attacks. The unit has been recommended for the Meritorious Unit Commendation award by the Commanding General.
Three soldiers of the 133rd were killed and 35 were wounded while serving in Iraq. "We continue to support the families of those Mainers who made the ultimate sacrifice. We honor their service, we will never forget them, and we continue to pray to give their families strength and to help them endure their loss," said Senator Collins.