Members of Red Oak Army National Guard to train and provide support overseas

Members of Hotel Company - Heartbreakers - 334th BSB in Red Oak are gearing up to head to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Ft. Johnson, La., in May.
During a special town hall meeting on April 8, Lieutenant Colonel Ross Niebur, Commander, 1st of the 168th Infantry Battalion expressed his appreciation for the support, as well assurances to the families of the guard members that they would be safe.
“I first served in this battalion in 2004 as a platoon leader when it deployed to Afghanistan. My career since that time includes multiple commands, combat deployments, staff positions, as well as positions all the way up to the Joint Force Headquarters level, directing the activities in response to civil unrest in Minneapolis. I just want you to know how seriously I take leading this battalion, and I want to just reveal a level of comfort that I’ve seen most of the challenges that this battalion’s going to face. I’ve been to JRTC. I’ve been mobilized multiple times, and my number one focus is going to be taking care of the soldiers, whether it’s your family member, one of your employees, or your community members. It’s really an honor. I’m humbled to be given this chance and look forward to leading the battalion into this next chapter in its history,” Niebur said.
The battalion was formed during the Civil War, originally as the 4th Volunteer Infantry, and it fought throughout the war. After that, it transitioned through different names and militias, but was again reactivated and fought in the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and then was again activated in support of the Global War on Terrorism, deploying to Afghanistan in 2004 to 2005, and again in 2010 to 2011. In the meantime, it supported multiple missions within the state of Iowa to take care of communities and respond to the governor’s call when citizens needed help. The upcoming deployment is in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
“The operation, if you don’t know, is the United States’ and its coalition partners’ fight against ISIS, so the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. During this mission, we’ll be joining our coalition forces and other American forces to provide security, support partner nations, and contribute to the efforts of maintaining stability in the Middle East. In preparation for this mobilization, the Army goes through a five-year cycle. It’s called like a readiness cycle, where you build from individual-level training all the way up to collective-level training, and then your final year is what’s called your ready year, and that’s the year that the 168 Infantry and 2nd Brigade is entering right now. As part of that, the battalion went through eXportable Combat Training Capability last summer. It’s the first step in immersing the battalion into collective training. It’s a simulated combat environment, a longer-duration period of time that starts to give soldiers the feel of what it means to be in combat. It’s really focused the training at the platoon level,” explained Niebur.
Niebur added that JRTC is the pinnacle training opportunity for light infantry units and special operations.
“There is no more immersive, no more comprehensive training environment that we could put ourselves through to prepare us for whatever comes next. JRTC every day is taking lessons from the current battlefields, primarily the Ukraine. And they’re taking those and they’re incorporating those into the training environment that we’ll face. The enemy that we’ll face are U.S. Army soldiers. They’re called Geronimo. That’s their unit designation or their call sign. It is their whole job to present us with the most challenging environment we can, and one that replicates the worst day you could have in combat and the cutting-edge techniques that are being used on the battlefield. Coming out of JRTC, we will be the most highly trained infantry brigade in the United States Army. So that’s a huge advantage for us as we come into what’s next. And there’s really no way that we could better prepare ourselves for the upcoming mobilization,” Niebur advised.
Following JRTC, the battalion will switch its focus to prepare and promote. In that period of time, it gets ready to head into country, it will do some additional mission-specific training to prepare the soldiers for the unique missions they will have on the mobilization. The soldiers will get issued the most up-to-date, advanced gear that the Army has in preparation for the mobilization. They will also go through advanced marksmanship and gunnery training, and then we’ll be focus on package equipment and gear and getting it ready for transportation over into theater. The battalion will move into theater and will conduct a relief in place with the unit currently assigned to the mission, the 1st Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division.
Tanner Hull is the Company Commander for Hotel Company - Heartbreakers - 334th BSB. Hull said he’s a third generation member, and among his family, his great grandfather and grandfather served with the company. Hull outlined the time frame for the members of Red Oak’s guard once they get to JRTC, and how long they will be deployed.
“The Guard will be in Louisiana from May to June, and then they’ll stay there for their mobilization preparation for about three to four weeks. You’re looking maybe late July to late August when they’ll start actually heading overseas. You can plan on them around the springtime of 2026 being back stateside,” Hull said.
No leave time is planned between when the guard soldiers end their JRTC training and begin their deployment. Also, no visitors will be allowed at the JRTC during training. Emergency leave will be available if something happens stateside while a guard member is overseas, and they will be returned home as quickly as possible.
Hull said around half of the Red Oak unit will be dispatched overseas as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.
“I can’t say specific numbers because of security, but more than half of the unit is going to be going forward. Our strength is over 80. The unit’s going to be spread out quite a bit, over quite a few areas. Operation Inherent Resolve covers Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and I think Bahrain, so there’s a very wide variety of countries that soldiers can end up in. I know some of the target areas that we’re going to, so soldiers could be really going over quite a few different countries,” Hull advised.
Daniel Harrison is the Command Sergeant Major for the 168th Lethal Battalion. Harrison urged those at home to maintain their support.
“We are going to take care of your soldiers. Your soldiers are part of the best trained, best equipped, and most lethal organization on Earth. We will meet the challenges that our country has for us. Your support is critical to our success. I cannot overstate how important it is for the families, employers, and communities of our deployed soldiers to have their back. Soldiers need to know that they have a home to go back to. They need to know that their job is safe. They need to know that their community is waiting for them and is going to hold a place for them in their homes and in their hearts,” said Harrison. “Everyone has a role in that. Your soldier has to be laser-focused on the mission. If they can’t be laser-focused on the mission, they can’t be effective. If they can’t be effective, they can’t be safe. That means people back home need to pick up the slack that a soldier used to do. We understand the hole that we are putting in your families, in your organization, and in your community. But know that your soldier will be fine. They will be coming home to you. And little things, little things like making sure that a family sidewalk is shoveled in the winter, running a blurb about them in the local newspaper, or sending a care package can make a world of difference to make sure that that soldier knows that they’re missed, that their sacrifices are important, and that they are loved back home.”
A send off ceremony will take place at the Red Oak National Guard building at 4 p.m. on May 28. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.