KNOXVILLE, Tenn (WVLT) -- Members of the 278th Armored Calvary Unit based in Knoxville, Tennessee, have been put on alert.

"The unit has been alerted for possible support of Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, or Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Nate Crawford, a spokesperson for the Tennessee National Guard.

The unit has not been mobilized. They've just been identified from somebody in U.S. Command as a unit with the capacity to perform a centain mission. They may or may not be selected for the mission, said Crawford.

The alert allows for them to begin administration and operations checks, and beginning planning and preparations in case they are ultimately mobilized, according to Crawford.

Operation Noble Eagle is the name for the U.S. "War on Terrorism" being conducted in the United States, Openation Iraqi Freedom is the war in Iraq, and Operation Enduring Freedom is the name for the war in Afghanistan.

"it's basically a wait and see," Crawford said. "There's no time frame set in stone."

The 278th is based out of the armory on Sutherland Avenue in West Knoxville, but there are members across the state.

The 278th spent about a year in service of Operation Iraqi Freedom from November of 2004 until November of 2005.