(Undated) -- One hundred fifty Iowa National Guard soldiers are being deployed to the Middle East later this month. They're with an engineering company out of southeast Iowa. A send-off ceremony will be held Saturday, September 16th at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington. The soldiers will travel to Ft. Bliss Texas first, for training before going overseas for one year in support of Operation Spartan Shield in U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). The region encompasses 27-countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others. The Iowa soldiers' primary mission will be to conduct construction operations for critical infrastructure.
The send-off ceremony begins at 9:30 at Loren Walker Arena. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
The 831st EVCC was last mobilized to Cedar Rapids in 2020 to assist county and state emergency management departments in the Derecho storm clean up. The unit was last activated into federal service in 2005 in support of the global war on terrorism.