HURON – A deployment ceremony will be held for about 165 soldiers of the South Dakota Army National Guard’s 153rd Engineer Battalion and its Forward Support Company, Nov. 11, at 3 p.m. at the Huron Arena.
The public is encouraged to attend the event as the units depart for about a nine month deployment to Kuwait.
Woonsocket natives Ty Swenson, Tre Swenson and Marshall Freideman are members of the 153rd.
Planned speakers for the ceremony include Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, U.S. Sen. John Thune, U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, and Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, SDNG adjutant general.
The mission of the Huron-based 153rd is to provide command and control of assigned or attached engineer units. The mission of the Huron- and Parkston-based FSC is to provide logistics and maintenance support.
The units will report to Fort Bliss, Texas, to complete several weeks of theater-specific training prior to deployment overseas.
This will be the second mobilization for the 153rd, which deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004-2005. This is the first deployment for the FSC.