Arizona National Guard unit prepares for deployment to Middle East
Sep 21, 2018, 3:34 PM | Updated: 5:50 pm
(Twitter/@Ali_Vetnar)
(Twitter/@Ali_Vetnar)
PHOENIX — An Arizona National Guard unit is preparing to serve its very first deployment overseas.
The 198th Regional Support Group will be deploying Sunday in support of U.S. Army Central Command. The unit will spend approximately a year in the Middle East.
198th Regional Support Group singing the Army Song ahead of their deployment to the southern Arabian Peninsula. @KTAR923 pic.twitter.com/YyKjk5fQk9
— Ali Vetnar (@Ali_Vetnar) September 21, 2018
Maj. Gen. Michael T. McGuire spoke to a room full of the friends, and family of the men and woman being deployed from Papago Park Military Reservation on Friday.
“We are going to deploy a full colonel and 0-6 headquarters to manage all the logistics for the Southern area of the Arabian Peninsula,” McGuire said.
“We will be supporting all soldiers, airman, sailors, and marines in theater.”
This is the group’s first deployment in support of overseas contingency operations.
The deployment of the 198th Regional Support Group marks the third of soldiers from the Arizona Army National Guard since January to support overseas contingency operations.
Staff Sgt. Vanessa Lupercio is among the soldiers who will be deployed and describes it as being particularly emotional for her.
Staff Sergeant Vanessa Lupercio and her husband Chief Juan Lupercio are both apart of the 198th Arizona National Guard. They are being deployed overseas together to create peace in the Middle East near the area of the Southern Arabian Peninsula. @KTAR923 pic.twitter.com/QzGD7KUFV8
— Ali Vetnar (@Ali_Vetnar) September 21, 2018
“My husband and I are being deployed together,” she said. “We are very excited to support our state of Arizona and the Army National Guard.”
The Arizona National Guard has supported more than 13,000 individual deployments since Sept. 11, 2001.
