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These Middle Georgians are getting ready to head to a war zone

By Wayne Crenshaw
Members of the Georgia National Guard’s 48th Brigade march up East Johnston Street during a parade in Forsyth in 2009 prior to a deployment to Afghanistan. In October, about 2,000 members of the unit will begin training for a return deployment to the war-torn nation.
Members of the Georgia National Guard’s 48th Brigade march up East Johnston Street during a parade in Forsyth in 2009 prior to a deployment to Afghanistan. In October, about 2,000 members of the unit will begin training for a return deployment to the war-torn nation. Jason Vorhees jvorhees@macon.com
Macon GA

Members of the Georgia Army National Guard 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team based in Macon are getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan.

Starting in mid-October, about 2,000 soldiers will begin undergoing training at Fort Stewart, said Maj. Will Parker, 48th spokesman. The citizen soldiers from across Georgia have known for about a year that they will be deploying for nine months.

They will head to Afghanistan in January. Parker said they will be serving at a variety of locations around Afghanistan.

“They will be providing security to a lot of different organizations and helping the Afghan people,” Parker said.

The last major deployment for the brigade was to Afghanistan in 2009, when 2,500 troops deployed. The brigade also deployed to Iraq in 2005.

The 48th Brigade is one of the oldest units in the U.S. Army with lineage dating back to 1825, according to its Facebook page.

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