Minnesota Guard Not Going To Liberia After All

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Members of the Minnesota National Guard have learned they won't be going to Liberia to help the U.S. military's response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Soldiers from the Rosemount-based 34th Red Bull Infantry Division were supposed to go to Liberia this year in support of Operation United Assistance.

But Guard spokesman Col. Kevin Olson says that the division is no longer required.

Last November, the Guard announced that nearly 700 members of the 34th Red Bull would be deployed to Liberia for a six-month period.

They were expected to arrive in April and depart in late fall. That mission was later reduced to nearly 300 soldiers.

But the number of West Africans who have become infected with Ebola has dropped dramatically.