Around 700 Arkansas National Guardsmen told of possible assignment to Africa

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— The Arkansas National Guard says it has informed around 700 soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to Africa, while a much smaller group received word that it might be assigned to Cuba.

The deployments are tentatively scheduled between 2016 and 2017. A state National Guard spokesman cautions that the plans are indefinite.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the National Guard Bureau called on the 1st Battalion of the state Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade to conduct operations in support of U.S. Africa Command's mission in northeast Africa.

The national bureau also called on Arkansas 15-person public affairs unit to serve as journalists and facilitate media visits at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which contains a detainee facility.

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