In the biggest call-up of Wisconsin National Guard troops since World War II, as many as 3,500 soldiers will serve in Iraq next year.

Wisconsin's 32nd Brigade Combat Team, the largest National Guard unit in the state, and six other units have been ordered to report to their local armories in mid-February 2009. The troops will train at a U.S. Army installation in Texas before they deploy overseas. The deployment is expected to last around one year, about 10 months of which will be spent in Iraq.

Lt. Col. Michael J. George, of the 1st Squadron, 105th Calvary, is based in Madison and is one of the many troops who will be beginning a second tour of duty. "I have over 26 years of service and this deployment does not come as a shock to me," George said. "This is my profession and this is what I've trained for." He served as an executive officer with the 2nd Battalion, 128th Infantry in northern Kuwait from August 2005 to November 2006.

The 32nd Brigade and the supporting units include troops from Madison, Milwaukee, Eau Claire and over 30 other communities statewide.

More than 4,500 troops will be called to duty, but no more than 3,500 will be mobilized. The discrepancy comes from soldiers who have not yet completed initial training requirements and those with unresolved medical problems, as these soldiers are ineligible for deployment but are still expected to report for duty.

In addition to the 32nd Brigade and six other units in February, the 951st Sapper Company, based in Tomahawk and Rhinelander, will be deployed in the coming year. About 100 soldiers are expected to report to active duty at the end of November for a security mission in Afghanistan.

The soldiers of the 32nd Brigade and the supplementary units were put on alert in December 2007 that they could be called up. George said the soldiers had adequate notice of deployment and were properly trained. "All our soldiers are taking this very seriously and have prepared their families," George said.

With the upcoming mobilization, more than 10,000 soldiers and airmen from the Wisconsin Army and Air National Guard — more than 100 percent of the Guard's total force in the state — will have served on active duty since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Guard. This number exceeds 100 percent of the Guard's current number of personnel because of multiple mobilizations for some soldiers and airmen.

After the deployment of the 32nd Brigade and the supplementary units, the Wisconsin National Guard will still have more than 60 percent of its forces available in-state for service in emergency situations, the Guard said.

The 32nd Brigade Combat Team is descended from the 32nd "Red Arrow" Division, an infantry organization formed of Wisconsin and Michigan Guardsmen in 1917, according to Lt. Col. Tim Donovan. During World War II, most of the division fought in the Southwest Pacific and logged a total of 654 days of continuous combat — more than any other U.S. Army division in any war.