National Guard deployment discussed
Posted: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 1:15 AM EST
Tuesday morning, 1st Sgt. Ricky Todd briefed the Griffin-Spalding Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee about the coming deployment of the Griffin-based Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 121st Infantry Regiment of the Georgia National Guard to Afghanistan.
Todd said the unit will be mobilized on April 10. Due to Easter being that weekend, the battalion commander has received permission for the unit to leave the following Monday, April 13, for Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Advance units will leave Griffin earlier and take the military vehicles with them. The remainder will leave on charter buses on the morning of the 13th.
The company will be at Camp Shelby until the first week of June. It is possible the soldiers will receive a four-day pass after that in order to spend time with their families prior to deployment to Afghanistan. If that happens, the unit is looking for ways to organize transportation home.
Todd said the unit will be mobilized on April 10. Due to Easter being that weekend, the battalion commander has received permission for the unit to leave the following Monday, April 13, for Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Advance units will leave Griffin earlier and take the military vehicles with them. The remainder will leave on charter buses on the morning of the 13th.
The company will be at Camp Shelby until the first week of June. It is possible the soldiers will receive a four-day pass after that in order to spend time with their families prior to deployment to Afghanistan. If that happens, the unit is looking for ways to organize transportation home.
Lt. Col. Allan Imes asked when they would be returning. Todd estimated they should return from Afghanistan in March 2010, since the regulations governing deployment put a limit of one year on their mobilization and the unit would need time to fully demobilize.
The committee discussed just how to provide the soldiers a send-off. Due to the possibility the guardsmen would not receive a four-day pass, they decided the community should turn out to see the company off when it leaves for Camp Shelby on April 13.
Jim King said the unit should leave around 9 a.m. to ensure arrival at Camp Shelby between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. If the guardsmen were to leave around 4 p.m., they would not arrive at Camp Shelby until well after midnight.
The committee discussed just how to provide the soldiers a send-off. Due to the possibility the guardsmen would not receive a four-day pass, they decided the community should turn out to see the company off when it leaves for Camp Shelby on April 13.
Jim King said the unit should leave around 9 a.m. to ensure arrival at Camp Shelby between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. If the guardsmen were to leave around 4 p.m., they would not arrive at Camp Shelby until well after midnight.
After discussing different options on the send-off, the committee ultimately decided to have a ceremony the morning of April 13 at the National Guard Armory on South Hill Street prior to the unit’s departure. The Family Readiness Group and Carver Road Baptist Church will hold another ceremony before that.
2 comments:
Was this in the paper?
Yes, the local daily excuse. We always plan for the articles to be terrible, and anything better than that is a relief!
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