CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There will be mixed emotions felt at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center Friday evening during West Virginia National Guard deployment event for more than 500 Soldiers of the 1st Squadron, 150th Cavalry Regiment.
Following a final training in the near future, the soldiers will be off to the Middle East to join the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) said on Thursday’s MetroNews ‘Talkline’ there’s a lot of feelings.
“It’s community coming together to show their pride in their citizen-soldiers and service members. Obviously, amongst families and employers and community leaders, there is a lot of angst anytime you are training or going into an actual combat environment. There is always a level of danger in the work that we in the United States military do,” he said.
Hoyer said he knows first hand what the feeling is like for family members on the other side of the deployment, watching a loved one leave. He said that comes from his sons serving in the WVNG.
“I would say probably one of the hardest things that I have encountered was six months with my wife while her youngest child is deployed into a combat zone. It’s a lot easier being out and over,” Hoyer said.
Hoyer added the WVNG will have their family readiness programs ready to serve families of 1st Squadron, 150th Cavalry Regiment that features soldiers from Logan, Putnam, Harrison, Fayette, and all over the state. This will be the third deployment for them since September 11, 2001.
A release from the WVNG said the 30th ABCT consists of 4,200 National Guard Soldiers from four states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia. The 30th ABCT will replace the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, as part of a regular rotation of forces in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
This deployment will mark the second time a National Guard brigade has rotated into command for this operation. The mission of the operation will be to sustain theater readiness to conduct unified land operations and to support partner nations in making the region safer.
Maj. Gen. Gregory Lusk, Adjutant General of the NCNG, and various other senior military officers and enlisted leaders will attend the event that lasts from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m. in the North and South rooms.