Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. The invocation was given by the Deputy State Chaplain for the Minnesota National Guard, Lt. Col. Timothy Peterson. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. Family and friends bow their heads during the invocation. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. Minnesota National Guard's Adjutant General Larry Shellito commented on their upcoming mission. "You are absolutely critical. I assure you it will all be about relationships, until you build that team together it will be a struggle, but I know you can do it." Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. "Know that while you are gone, that one of my biggest commitments is to your family" said the First Lady of the State of Minnesota, Mary Pawlenty. One of the support systems is the First Lady's Military Family Care Initiative which can be found at BeyondTheYellowRibbon.org. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. "You are incredible heroes and we are grateful to each and every one of you for the hard work, the sacrifice, the commitment, the courage that it takes to do what you do" said Minnesota Governor and Commander-In-Chief Tim Pawlenty. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty presents a Minnesota flag to Maj. Robb Mattilla, commander of the deploying Operational Mentoring Liaison Team. Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. Family and friends of the deploying Operational Mentoring Liaison Team added personal notes to a banner donated by the Minn. Timberwolves which will be sent to Minn. Guardsmen deployed in Iraq. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty met with each deploying Soldier and their families after the ceremony. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ewer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. The Minnesota National Guard's Adjutant General Larry Shellito added a personal note to a banner donated by the Minn. Timberwolves which will be sent to Minn. Guardsmen deployed in Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Dajon Schafer.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul. Sgt. Larkin Adey, a deploying Soldier, reponded to one of many requests for media interviews.
Twelve Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard will leave Minnesota on August 21, 2009 for a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They will train for a short time in Ft. Polk, La. then train with their counterparts in Croatia before deploying to Afghanistan. Today a deployment ceremony was held in honor of these Soldiers at the Cedar Street Armory in St Paul.
