Carson City man called to active duty for Army Reserves

Sgt. Jose Obregon of Carson City said he is not afraid to go anywhere the country needs him.

For the next year, that will be Las Vegas or Reno.

The Army National Guard sergeant, a section leader for a mortar platoon, has been called up for active duty and will report Jan. 30.

Gov. Kenny Guinn and the adjutant general for Nevada, Maj. Gen. Giles Vanderhoof, announced Tuesday that the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry has been mobilized for active duty.

The unit, based in Las Vegas and Fallon, will provide protection for armories at Nellis Air Force Base and the Air National Guard Base in Reno, beginning in early February.

Obregon, a 1998 Carson City High School graduate, volunteered to work full time for the Nevada National Guard after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He is also a full-time student of pre-engineering at Western Nevada Community College.

The orders will place Obregon, 25, on active duty for at least one year. He enlisted at age 17 after participating in Reserve Officers Training Cadet program in high school. He would have been eligible for release in four months, but planned to re-enlist.

"I've always liked the military," Obregon said. "It's just that it was a really good opportunity. You can kind of have a lot of fun and still have time to do your civilian life, too."

Obregon plans to use the ROTC education benefits to help pay for college. He is the first in his family to serve in the military.

Nellis officials said 722 active duty personnel from the base are assigned around the world. They wouldn't say where, citing national security.

Deploying about 125 more will bring that number to about 850, including members of the 99th Airbase Wing, which is providing security and transportation support for air operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Nellis, which is next to a vast test range that is a busy training sites for U.S. and allied pilots, is also home to F-15 and F-16 fighter wings, the Thunderbird aerial demonstration team and a Predator drone aircraft wing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.