By AP
Oklahoma City, OK – Summer proves deadly for Okla. National Guard
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma's adjutant general says morale among the state's National Guard soldiers deployed to Afghanistan remains strong despite the deaths of seven guard members in the last month.
Maj. Gen. Myles Deering says the 2,200 members of the 45th Infantry Brigade in Afghanistan continue to do their jobs professionally in the dangerous eastern Afghanistan provinces along the border with Pakistan.
Seven Oklahoma National Guard soldiers have died in Afghanistan since July 29, making it the most deadly month for the 45th since the Korean War.
The brigade previously deployed to Afghanistan in 2003 and to Iraq in 2007. Besides the 2,200 soldiers in Afghanistan, another 800 are deployed to Kuwait. They are scheduled to return to Oklahoma in late March and early April.