An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Dec. 11, 2023

Arkansas Guardsmen Return from Southwest Asia Deployment

By John Oldham, Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs Office

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Central Arkansas families are smiling a little brighter this holiday season after more than 350 Arkansas National Guardsmen returned Dec. 9 from a nine-month deployment to Southwest Asia.

The Guardsmen, assigned to 2-153 Infantry Battalion, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, were deployed to support Operation Spartan Shield, an operation that builds partner capacity in the region to promote regional self-reliance and increase security among partner nations.

“We’re excited to have these Guardsmen back home in time for the holidays,” said Maj. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, Arkansas adjutant general. “They’ve been away from their families and employers doing our nation’s vital business of helping keep the region secure and safe. I’m immensely proud of their service and sacrifice for our state and nation, and I know Arkansans are, too.”

The Guardsmen departed Arkansas Feb. 5 for their mobilization station at Fort Bliss, Texas. From there, they deployed to Southwest Asia, where they served as a security force by providing convoy and base security of U.S. elements and assets friendly to the United States. Including their train-up period, the Guardsmen were away from their families for nearly one year.

On their return trip home, the Guardsmen arrived at their demobilization station at Fort Bliss Nov. 28. They departed El Paso, Texas, and landed in Little Rock, to be reunited with their loved ones.

Families filled half an aircraft hangar at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport as they waited for their service members to return home. After a short wait, the hangar doors opened and in marched their loved ones as families cheered. As soon as the Soldiers were dismissed from the formation, families and Guardsmen sought out their loved ones.

Joyann Bearden of Searcy said she kept in touch with her husband, Capt. Samuel Bearden, via “phone, texting, video chatting and calling as often as possible.”

To help keep their three children engaged she built a deployment wall in their home.

“We had a deployment wall where we showed a map for the kids to keep up with where their daddy was. We put pictures up and any pictures Sam could send me,” she said.

 

 

Related Articles
The 33rd Fighter Wing and Ebbing Air National Guard Base welcomed the arrival of the first two Polish Air Force F-35A Lightning II at the base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Dec. 23, 2024.  Polish pilots will train on the aircraft at Ebbing ANGB beginning in January.
New Era Begins with Arrival of Poland’s F-35s at Ebbing ANGB
By John Oldham, | Dec. 26, 2024
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The first pair of F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation fighter aircraft arrived at Fort Smith’s Ebbing Air National Guard Base Dec. 23.The two aircraft belong to Poland and will be used to train...

Guardsmen from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin participate in a two-week Army National Guard Defensive Deployable Cyber Operations Systems-Modular Master Gunner Course at Jackson Barracks, a Louisiana National Guard installation in New Orleans, Oct. 28 to Nov. 7, 2024.
NGB Hosts Deployable Defensive Cyber Operations Systems-Modular Master Gunner Course
By Staff Sgt. David C. Kirtland, | Nov. 13, 2024
NEW ORLEANS – The National Guard Bureau hosted the second Deployable Defensive Cyber Operations Systems-Modular (DDS-M) Master Gunner Course at Louisiana National Guard’s Jackson Barracks Oct. 28 to Nov. 7.The course,...

U.S. Army Sgt. Isaac Bradshaw, a combat medic with C Company, 230th Brigade Support Battalion, North Carolina Army National Guard, wraps his arms around an older couple and uses his body to block them from debris and strong winds produced by the rotorwash of a landing CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Burnsville, North Carolina, Oct. 10, 2024. The Chinook crew brought generators, fuel and other supplies to the remote area after floodwaters washed away the main road after Hurricane Helene.
National Guard Helps Hurricane Milton, Helene Victims
By National Guard Bureau | Oct. 9, 2024
ARLINGTON, Va. - Over 11,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were conducting Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene relief missions in the Southeast Sunday, helping first responders and victims by air, land and...