Local members of the Maine Army National Guard left Lewiston Tuesday, beginning a journey that will soon take them to the Middle East.
The Maine guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion – including a company from Lewiston and Norway – packed up its heavy gear Tuesday. On Wednesday, more personnel will board buses, all headed for Fort Drum, N.Y.
At the U.S. Army base, the 125 or so members of the local company will complete their training before going abroad.
“They’ll train for as long as it takes,” said Lt. Col. Jerry Dunlap, a staff officer for the Maine Army National Guard.
Then they will be sent overseas. Soldiers have not been told where they are headed. But when they arrive, they will likely be builders.
The unit was created as a moving construction company.
They can build roads, airfields and do other earth-moving projects. And, they can build wood, metal and concrete structures and install the electrical wiring and plumbing systems.
They also are trained for combat, appropriate for a battalion that traces its history back to the 20th Maine, the Civil War unit headed by Joshua Chamberlain.
The group is expected to be gone for about 18 months.
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