EDINBURGH, Ind. - Approximately 600 Indiana National Guard Soldiers with the 38th Infantry Division bid farewell to loved ones during a departure ceremony at Camp Atterbury Sept. 25.
The division troops will deploy to the Middle East to support Operation Spartan Shield, the U.S. operation to strengthen defense relationships and build partner capacity through leader engagements, multinational exercises and response planning.
"The men and women assembled here today have answered the call to serve our state and nation," said Maj. Gen. Dan Degelow, the division's commanding general. "You warriors have trained for this important mission, you have given and continue to give of yourselves, and you stand ready for what lies ahead."
What lies ahead is an overseas deployment for about nine months, with the Soldiers' mobilization lasting approximately a year. The first stop will be at Fort Cavasos, Texas, for about a month for additional individual and unit training before heading overseas.
Maj. Gen. Dale Lyles, the Indiana National Guard's adjutant general, thanked the families for their enduring support.
"The country owes a great deal of gratitude that we can never repay by knowing that we live in a free and democratic country, the best country in the world, because of the families who support the Soldiers who are getting ready to deploy," Lyles said.
The families also supported their division Soldiers who trained and prepared for their upcoming mission over the past 12 months, including a warfighter exercise in June and medical response training in February.
Many of the unit's Soldiers deployed for the same mission, Operation Spartan Shield, in 2019 and returned in April 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, like last, they are scheduled to replace the Soldiers from the 34th Infantry Division.
The 38th Infantry Division, headquartered in Indianapolis and also known as the Cyclone Division, traces its lineage to 1917 and is one of eight National Guard divisions. The division is deployable for state and national missions in multidomain operating environments, and its Soldiers can provide command and control over Army forces engaged in decisive and shaping operations.