From the Arkansas Advocate:
Hundreds of people packed into the Bentonville Armed Forces Reserve Center Monday where loved ones said tearful goodbyes to about 130 Arkansas National Guard members who are deploying to southwest Asia for a nine-month mission.
The deployment of the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade comes as the U.S. remains engaged in a war with Iran that began in late February and has resulted in protests, rising gas prices and the deaths of American troops.
Col. Jonathan Smith, commander of the brigade, told reporters this mission has been scheduled for years, but things changed in the last four weeks as “the intensity has gone up.”
After spending a month or two in Fort Bliss, Texas training, Smith said soldiers will relieve another guard unit overseas and serve in at least four different undisclosed countries.
“We don’t ever want to go to war, we don’t ever want to fight, but we’re going to be here to protect our country,” he said.
This will be the first deployment for more than half the unit’s troops, including Sgt. Thomas Jaron Kiefer, who said it was a “little bit of a tearjerker” saying goodbye to his two kids at daycare Monday.
Another guard member, Sgt. Chris Grier, said goodbye to his wife and two-year-old son.
“It’s so exciting to see him grow and know that everything that we’re doing has an impact on the future for him,” Grier said. “Everything I did before mattered, but after I had my son, night and day difference.”
The deployment is part of Operations Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve, which involve working with partners against regional threats and assisting in the defeat of the Islamic State group to establish “an enduring security cooperation framework,” according to a press release.
Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges, Arkansas’ adjutant general, told the troops he was proud of them during Monday’s sendoff ceremony.
“This is monumental,” Bridges said. “This is emotional. It should be because it’s meaningful.”
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said this isn’t the first time this group has been called on to serve in the Middle East, but the events of the past month “have raised the stakes significantly for the region and for the world.”
“You are headed to one of the most volatile regions in the entire world, and the whole state is thankful for your service, for what you’re doing and we will be praying daily for your safety,” Sanders said.
Founded in 1893, the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade has served in all the nation’s conflicts except the Vietnam War, according to the release.
The brigade provided additional security at the nation’s Capitol during President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021. Later that year, the unit deployed to the Middle East in support of Operations Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve.
The unit’s troops have also served on state active-duty missions conducting winter weather response support, providing potable water and responding to other natural disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and the May 2024 Rogers tornado.
