Edited sentence: Late 2002 the 76th BDE was called on to provide a "Separate Infantry Battalion" to provide support for an escalating campaign in the Middle East.On D+5 the Infantry Battalion was called on to move north to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.The "Nightfighters" setup security for the newly constructed support base.The 1/293rd was the first National Guard Infantry Battalion in combat during this campaign.The 1st of the 293rd Infantry Battalion was mobilized to camp Arifjan Kuwait on 2 January 2003.The Nightfighters were also the first National Guard Battalion since the Korean War to receive the prestigious Combat Infantry Badge