Local National Guard deployed
<p>Sgt. Aimee Schmidt embraces her son Colton, 8, Monday afternoon after the deployment ceremony for the Montana National Guard 495th at the Hilton Garden Inn. The 495th leaves for Afghanistan on Tuesday.</p>
Local soldiers in the Montana Army National Guard’s 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion deployed from Montana earlier this week, en-route to its mobilization station at Fort Hood, Texas. The unit is deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The unit had a departure ceremony on Monday and left from the Glacier International Airport on Tuesday.
About 60 soldiers of the unit are heading to Fort Hood for approximately six weeks of final training prior to departure. The unit is scheduled for mobilization outside of Montana for up to one year, providing sustainment and logistical command support to the theater of operation. This is the second deployment for the unit, the first was in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The 495th CSSB is headquartered in Kalispell and is the battalion headquarters for more than six companies in Montana, none of which will be deploying with the battalion. The unit received a Notification of Sourcing for possible deployment in the summer of 2011. The unit has been conducting extensive training in preparation for the deployment since that time.