Nearly 400 Iowa National Guard soldiers are being called up for deployment.
The 390 soldiers from the 248th Aviation Support Battalion are aircraft maintainers, test pilots, and logistical support personnel who will be part of a federal call up of approximately 500 Army National Guard Soldiers along with soldiers from Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
The Iowa soldiers come from companies in Muscatine, Davenport, Waterloo and Boone and make up the largest single-unit deployment of the Iowa National Guard since 2010.
They will travel to Fort Hood, Texas, for additional training before assignment to overseas locations in the U.S. Central Command theater of operation. The Central Command includes nations in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Community send-off ceremonies for the soldiers will be held Friday, September 29th, in the following locations:
Muscatine
Detachment 1, Company A: approximately 30 Soldiers will be honored at a 10 a.m. ceremony in the Iowa National Guard Readiness Center, 5801 Grandview Ave., Muscatine, Iowa.
Davenport
Headquarters Support Company and Detachment 4, Company B: approximately 75 Soldiers will be honored at a 10 a.m. ceremony in the Davenport Army Aviation Support Facility, 9650 N. Harrison St., Davenport, Iowa.
Waterloo
Company A and Detachment 3, Company B: approximately 105 Soldiers will be honored at a 2 p.m. ceremony in the University of Northern Iowa West Gym, 2501 Minnesota St., UNI Campus, Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Boone
Detachment 1, Headquarters Support Company and Company B: approximately 180 Soldiers will be honored at a 5 p.m. ceremony in the Boone High School gym, 500 7th St., Boone, Iowa.