Two local soldiers injured in Iraq

April 16, 2009|By KATE S. ALEXANDER

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Two members of a Pennsylvania National Guard unit stationed in Franklin County have been injured in Iraq.

The Army National Guard confirmed Thursday that Pfc. Brian Miller and Pfc. Mitch Baldwin, both members of C Troop, 2nd Squadron of the 104th Cavalry, 56th Stryker Brigade, were injured Sunday in an explosion near Camp Taji in Iraq.

The Guard said Miller was being flown Thursday to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., after being treated at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany.

Baldwin was taken earlier to Walter Reed, according to the Guard.

Capt. Cory Angell, public information officer with the brigade, said four soldiers from the 56th Stryker Brigade were injured Sunday when an improvised explosive device detonated.

Two of those soldiers were severely injured and were evacuated from Iraq, Angell said. Those soldiers later were identified as Miller and Baldwin.

The other soldiers remained in the combat zone. One was treated at Balad and the other had returned to duty, Angell said.

There was no indication whether the other soldiers injured in the blast were from Troop C.

The National Guard notified the families of the injured soldiers, Angell said.

The Guard would not release additional information for reasons of "propriety and policy" and out of respect for the families, he said.

Charlie Troop deployed to Iraq earlier this year after months of training in Mississippi and Louisiana. Angell said the brigade will redeploy sometime in September.

Jill O'Donnell, president of a family readiness group for Troop C, said she will contact the families to see how they are doing.

Members of the unit were able to get home for Christmas before heading to Iraq, with the help of Charles Nitterhouse VFW Post 1599 in Chambersburg. The post spearheaded an effort to bring the soldiers home for the holidays, getting more than $10,000 in donations to pay for transportation and other costs.

At the time, military personnel said about 70 Guard members are based with the Stryker unit in Chambersburg, and another 70 are based in Waynesboro, Pa. A Stryker is an armored personnel carrier, named for two soldiers who died in action.

The local members deployed were part of about 4,000 troops in the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

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