LANSING, MICH. - Friends and family will bid farewell to approximately 40 Michigan National Guard Soldiers from Grand Ledge as they depart Thursday for Fort Sill, Okla., and then Iraq for a 12 month tour of duty. The Soldiers are assigned to Detachment 2, Company B, 351st Aviation Support Battalion based in Grand Ledge.

The Soldiers will train for approximately 60 days at Fort Sill before they deploy to Iraq. Their mission is to provide theater-wide helicopter maintenance. The unit will inspect, maintain, and repair the system and subsystem components of UH-60 Blackhawks, CH-47 Chinooks, and AH-64 Apaches.

The deployment ceremony will held Thursday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m., at the Michigan National Guard Headquarters, 3411 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., Lansing, Mich.

Today, nearly 1,000 Michigan National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are deployed across the globe in support of the global war on terrorism; however, as the Michigan Guard serves the nation abroad, more than 90 percent of the force is available, trained and ready to respond to a state emergency including a terrorist event.

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MEDIA ADVISORY: Media is invited to attend the departure ceremony. Soldiers and family members will be available for interviews one hour prior to the ceremony.