FOX 11 WLUK-TV May 28, 2009
32nd in control of International Zone
BAGHDAD - The Wisconsin National Guard’s 32nd Infantry Brigade is now in control of Baghdad’s International Zone, a Guard spokesman said.
According to the Web site GlobalSecurity.org , the International Zone, formerly known as the Green Zone, is the heavily-guarded area of closed-off streets in central Baghdad where U.S. occupation authorities live and work.
The formal transfer of authority ceremony was held at the former Ba'ath Party headquarters, located on Forward Operating Base Union III in what many people still call Green Zone. Maj. Gen. Guy Swan, chief of staff for Multinational Force-Iraq, presided over the ceremony. He said the JASG's mission can be summed up in six words: "administer and secure the International Zone." Swan said the mission is "that simple and that difficult."
Around 3,200 soldiers of the 32nd Brigade Combat Team are stationed in Iraq. Of those, 140 soldiers are responsible for the International Zone.
The 32nd Brigade was mobilized in February and completed training at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Camp Buehring, Kuwait, before arriving in Iraq in early May. The brigade's 27 units expect to complete their missions in January 2010, the Guard said.
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