FAIRBANKS — Officials say about half of the largest unit on the Army post in Fairbanks will deploy to Iraq later this year.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the Army announced Friday that the Fort Wainwright soldiers will replace the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
The unit, the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, numbers about 4,500 soldiers.
The Fairbanks soldiers will work to stabilize an area previously controlled by the Islamic State group now known officially by the U.S. and its allies as the Arabic term Daech.
This will be the brigade's third deployment to Iraq.
Brigade spokesman Maj. Charlie Dietz says leaders haven’t said which soldiers will deploy. He says the deployment is expected to last about a year, starting this summer.