[5] The companies were attached to 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division for the deployment as part of Task Force Eagle.
They performed presence patrols outside Forward Operating Base Morgan and Camp McGovern, and participated in the consolidation of weapon storage sites.
[4] In 2002 the 39th Brigade was notified that it would be participating in a rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, LA.
The brigade was required to complete a Mission Rehearsal Exercise during the Annual Training 2003 which was conducted at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.
Less than a month after the completion of this major training milestone, the brigade received its alert for deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 28 July 2003.
On 12 October 2003, the 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, commanded by LTC Mark Lumpkin, was ordered to federal service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II for a period of up to 18 months.
While there, on 17 February 2004, President George W. Bush visited the 39th and had an MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) lunch in a field mess tent with soldiers.
In the National Guard, the new recruit is counted on the unit's strength reports as soon as the soldier signs his contract.
The 3–153rd IN battalion commander and staff were transferred to 2–153rd IN and were designated to function as the brigade's rear detachment during the deployment.
During consolidation of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions 153rd Infantry for OIF II, efforts were made to maintain unit integrity at least at the platoon level.
The platoon was the first coalition element to enter the Exclusion Zone surrounding the Imam Ali Mosque.
[10] 3–153rd provided security to two massive Shiite marches to the Khadamiyah Shrine which were staged through Sunni neighborhoods.
[11] The most coordinated enemy attack the 3–153rd experienced occurred on 20 November 2004 when twenty-six soldiers of Company C, 3-153rd were ambushed near Ft. Apache in North Baghdad.
Due to the battalion's planning and coordination with Iraqi counterpart units and governmental elections officials, not one polling site in the 3–153rd area of operations was disrupted or forced to close.
[10] The 3–153rd was covered by an embedded reporter, Amy Schlesing of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, for the entire time in Iraq.
After Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in August 2005, elements of the 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry were deployed to New Orleans by C-130s from the Little Rock Air Force Base to support the relief and recovery efforts there.
[14] Under tactical control of the Louisiana National Guard, 3rd Battalion soldiers were given the mission of providing security and food and water to an estimated 20,000 people at the New Orleans Convention Center on 2 September.
A silver color metal and enamel device 1+1⁄8 inches (2.9 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure, a bend wavy between a fleur-de-lis and a giant cactus Argent; on a chief of the last a Great Bear's face of the like fimbriated of the first, lips and tongue Gules.
The Great Bear's face from the shoulder sleeve insignia of the Alaskan Department symbolizes service in that area in World War II.
Blazon: Shield: Azure, a bend wavy between a fleur-de-lis and a giant cactus Argent; on a chief of the last a Great Bear's face of the like fimbriated of the first, lips and tongue Gules.
[17] Crest: That for the regiments of the Arkansas National Guard: On a wreath of the colors (Argent and Azure) above two sprays of apple blossoms Proper a diamond Argent charged with four mullets Azure, one in upper point and three in lower, within a bordure of the last bearing twenty-five mullets of the second.
The Great Bear's face from the shoulder sleeve insignia of the Alaskan Department symbolizes service in that area in World War II.