AUGUSTA (AP) – About 170 members of the Maine Army National Guard will soon be heading to Iraq, Adjutant General John Libby said Friday.

The troops were mobilized for 18 months and will be assigned to security duties, including convoy operations. The Guard members are scheduled to leave for Fort Dix, N.J., in early January.

The unit is commanded by B Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 172nd Mountain Infantry. It also includes members of the 1136th Transportation Company, the 152nd Field Artillery Battalion and the 133rd Engineer Battalion.

The unit has received extensive training at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in weapons systems, convoy procedures and medical techniques, the Guard said.

Some members of the unit will be serving a second tour in Iraq, but all of those are volunteers, said Maj. Michael Backus, a spokesman for the Maine Guard. “Others were selected based on their skills and availability,” he said.

Ninety members of the 240th Engineer Group, based in Augusta, are also preparing to leave in mid-January for Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Maine Guard currently has 209 members in Iraq, most of them from the 152nd Maintenance Company.