The Illinois Army National Guard has received notification that approximately 155 Soldiers with the 661st Horizontal Engineer Company based in Macomb, Illinois, will deploy to Kuwait in the spring of 2021 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).
While deployed to Kuwait, the 661st will provide construction capabilities including the ability to build and maintain roadways and buildings. They can provide survey and concrete capabilities to support steady state operations and provide engineer expertise on construction planning and execution to establish, repair, upgrade, or maintain infrastructure.
“The Soldiers of the 661st have met every mission it has been given during its proud history, and I am confident these Soldiers will continue that strong tradition. They will serve with distinction,” said Brig. Gen. Richard Neely, Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard.
The 661st can trace its history back to Oct. 1, 1983, when it was organized and federally recognized in the Illinois Army National Guard as Detachment 1, Company C, 937th Signal Battalion and located at Sparta, Illinois. In 2006, the unit was converted, reorganized and redesignated as the 661st Engineer Company at Sparta, Illinois. In September 2017, the unit moved to Macomb, Illinois.
The 661st deployed in 2011 to Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan, 661st Soldiers completed many assignments including Afghanistan National Army training, mine clearance operations, crater repair along supply routes and closing combat outposts.
