2008-09-30 Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1

2008-09-30 Gina Cavallaro ArmyTimes \2008 US domestic troop deployment\US military http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/ Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1 Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1  The 3rd Infantry Divisionâ€™s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys. Now theyâ€™re training for the same mission â€” with a twist â€” at home. Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks. It is not the first time an active-duty unit has been tapped to help at home. In August 2005, for example, when Hurricane Katrina unleashed hell in Mississippi and Louisiana, several active-duty units were pulled from various posts and mobilized to those areas. But this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities. After 1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are that another, as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take over and that the mission will be a permanent one.

&ldquo;Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the [3rd Infantry Divisionâ€™s 1st Brigade Combat Team] will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.&rdquo;   