Kansas National Guard soldiers heading to Egypt

Eds: UPDATES with comment from soldiers; ADDS background.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) -- About 425 members of the Kansas National Guard based in Clay Center are preparing to deploy to Egypt.

The soldiers will help prevent violations of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace, a 1979 agreement of mutual recognition between the two countries, the National Guard said.

The members of the 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery and a subordinate unit from Clay Center, the 250th Forward Support Battalion, are now conducting pre-mobilization training in Salina.

The training involves Army warrior tasks -- exercises to ensure soldiers are up to speed on the skills they will need. It includes weapons use, first aid and other field skills.

First Lt. Travis Zeigler said the unit will be doing infantry work.

"It will be a challenging environment, a good chance to test our skills as a unit," he said.

Staff Sgt. Kenneth Scheibe, of Clay Center, a Persian Gulf War veteran, said he's learning things from the soldiers underneath him because what he knows from the Gulf War is outdated.

"What you're telling them (from the Gulf War) is old -- most of the soldiers underneath you have been on multiple deployments," he said. "I'm having to change my approach as a leader a lot."

The Guard unit has reorganized from a maintenance company to one more suited for modern warfare and combat.

Families and the public are invited to see the soldiers off at a July 19 deployment ceremony at the Bicentennial Center in Salina. The soldiers will go to their mobilization training center at Fort Lewis, Wash., and then deploy to Egypt.

The battalion was last activated for duty in December 2003. Members conducted missions in and around Baghdad in Iraq.

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Information from: The Clay Center Dispatch , http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd1160