Oregon Army National Guard soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, render a hand salute during the playing of the National Anthem as they take part in their formal mobilization ceremony on Oct. 20, 2024 held on the campus of Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Oregon. The 1-168th Infantry Regiment is scheduled to deploy to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. (John Hughel/Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)
Nearly 200 Oregon National Guard soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment have been mobilized to deploy to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt for a peacekeeping mission.
The mobilization ceremony took place Sunday in in Ashland, Ore., at Southern Oregon University’s Raider Stadium.
The soldiers will be part of a Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) Mission, tasked with implementing the security aspects of the 1979 Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel, commonly known as the Camp David Accords.
The Oregon Guard, who will join soldiers from other U.S. states, have spent two years preparing for this deployment. The mobilization ceremony was attended by family, friends and community members.
The MFO was founded in 1981, two years after the Egypt-Israel peace treaty. The mission exists outside of the United Nations’ peacekeeping framework, so unlike traditional peacekeeping missions, it works closely with the two nations rather than acting as a buffer force.
Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Joshua Rapp said no other mission in the U.S. Army is like the MFO mission, according to an Army press release.
While the MFO has operated smoothly for decades, the mobilization of Oregon’s guardsmen comes at a difficult time — not just for the region as a whole but for relations between Israel and Egypt specifically.
In February Egyptian officials said their government could void its 40-year-old treaty with Israel if the latter proceeded to invade Rafah in Gaza, citing concerns with the potential refugee crisis it could create for Egypt. Three months later, an exchange of fire between Egyptian and Israeli forces in the Rafah border area resulted in the death of an Egyptian soldier and the wounding of several Israeli soldiers.
Brig. Gen. Alan R. Gronewold referenced the regional instability during the mobilization ceremony.
“Recent events have reminded us of the volatile nature of the world,” Gronewold said, according to the release. “The Russian Federation seeks to undermine the United States and democracy itself. Your mission to keep the peace and enforce the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty continues the ever-important thread for democracy in the Middle East.”
The 1-186th Infantry Regiment’s previous deployments include Washington, D.C., for the 2021 presidential inauguration, Oregon for COVID-19 support, the Horn of Africa (2019-2020), Afghanistan (2014-2015) and Iraq (2009-2010).
Family, friends, co-workers and other members of the Southern Oregon community attend the mobilization ceremony for the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment during their formal mobilization ceremony on Oct. 20, 2024 held on the campus of Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Ore. The 1-168th Infantry Regiment is scheduled to deploy to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. (John Hughel/Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)
