By Edward Lee Pitts Staff Writer

The largest unit in the Tennessee National Guard, with armories in Cleveland and Athens, Tenn., received its mobilization orders Tuesday and should be heading to Iraq by November, officials said. "There has not been a mobilization of Tennessee soldiers this large since World War II," said Randy Harris, spokesman for the state’s Army National Guard.

More than 3,000 soldiers from the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment will be activated in phases from June 7 to June 26, Mr. Harris said.

The order brings the number of Tennessee Army and Air National Guard troops serving on active duty to 3,799, he said. Capt. Todd A. Woodruff, a 278th troop commander based in Athens, Tenn., said the guardsmen have been ordering equipment and uniforms while training for their mission. They have been on alert since March, he said.

"We expected the orders to come," he said. "It is not a surprise to us."

Nancy Baxter’s husband, Blake, is a staff sergeant with the 278th who will be leaving his Ooltewah home and four children ages 12 to 20. His pending absence has not sunk in yet, Mrs. Baxter said.

"It is not a thing I am happy about," she said. "But he is a patriotic man doing his duty, and I have to support him."

Capt. Woodruff said the guardsmen will be sent to Camp Shelby, Miss., for 70 days of "theater specific" drills.

"We will get specialized training to gear us more for an urban warfare environment like what we are seeing on CNN every day," he said.

From there, the regiment will spend about four weeks in California earning a combat validation, he said.

"Everybody is pretty upbeat and confident we will accomplish the mission," Capt. Woodruff said.

But Mrs. Baxter said the "horrendous" actions of Iraqi prisoner abuse will make life harder on her husband and the rest of the 278th. "I am sure the people over there will be up in arms against us (Americans), and that makes me worried," she said.

Capt. Woodruff said he does not know where in Iraq the regiment will be stationed, but he said the 278th will spend one year in the region supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 278th, based in Knoxville, is the only armored cavalry regiment in the entire National Guard. It operates tanks and armored personnel carriers and has units at about 30 armories, mostly in East and Middle Tennessee.

Capt. Woodruff said the regiment primarily is trained for tank warfare similar to the fighting seen in Europe during World War II.

Capt. Mitch Murray with the 278th said in March the regiment is a reconnaissance and surveillance force usually charged with maintaining close contact with the enemy. The unit’s mission means operating alone for up to 72 hours as much as 100 kilometers from a main fighting force, he said.

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