Army National Guard Troops Depart for Iraq Following Tear-Filled Ceremony at APG

Hundreds of military families gathered at the Aberdeen Proving Ground on Saturday with Gov. Martin O’Malley and military dignitaries to bid farewell to a Havre de Grace-based Army unit deploying to Iraq.

During a 30-minute send-off at the Maj. Gen. Warren D. Hodges Armory, O’Malley and his adjutant general, Maj. Gen. James A. Adkins, thanked the nearly 200 troops of the Maryland Army National Guard's 1729^th Field Support Maintenance Company for their sacrifice and service.

“Your greatness is your service, and all of us deeply appreciate what you are doing, and can never hope to repay you enough,” O'Malley said during a brief speech, garnering a round of applause. “Know this: we will be praying and looking forward to your safe return.” 

Although personnel being deployed were only recently informed of their exact deployment date, the possibility of a one-year deployment has been common knowledge within the company.

“They've known for a year, and they'll be gone for a year,” said 1^st Sgt. Roderick Thomas.

After leaving Aberdeen Proving Ground, the 1729^th will go to Fort Hood, TX, for training before being sent to Iraq to assist with Operation New Dawn. Long before the ceremony began, buses were waiting outside of the armory to transport the nearly 200 troops to Texas.

“Their mission is a maintenance mission; they will repair equipment being used in Iraq,” said Col. Lorenza Cooper, Commander of the 58^th Troop Command.

After the speeches and the ceremony, family and friends embraced and cried with troops as they said their goodbyes.

Operation Homefront, a local volunteer organization that assists military families during deployments, showed their support by catering the ceremony.

“We want people to say ‘thank you’ to the deployed and their families,” said Devanice Ball, a volunteer with Operation Homefront. “Deployments are always hard for families and for the person leaving, but the community is there for support.”

In addition to Operation Homefront, non-deploying APG staff members were on hand to supply families with books and pamphlets on how to cope when a loved one deploys overseas.

“It's bittersweet,” said Irene Younger, mother of Sgt. Nathan Younger, who will leave a fiancée and young son behind. “He loves the Army.”

“I've only been this proud of him one other time, and that's when he joined the Army,” said Wayne Younger, Nathan's father.

Families continued to bond and say their farewells long after the ceremony's end, and for the families of older personnel, this was not the first time they have seen a solider off. 

Huddled in a quiet, tender embrace with her husband, Natalie Deitchman was saying goodbye to her husband, Sgt. Steve Deitchman, for the second time since he deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq.

“I'll be happy when he comes home,” Deitchman said.