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Local Soldiers Embark on Middle East Journey
120 soldiers said their final good-byes in Galesburg Sunday as they prepare to provide support in a Middle East homeland security project.

The 444th Chemical Company will head to Mississippi where they'll train at Camp Shelby for several weeks-- then it's off to Kuwait for almost a year.

Triple-4 First Lieutenant Chad Wester says he's never been let down in his three years with the Chemical Company. He says they take pride in approaching each task with enthusiasm.

The strength of this company is in its diversity on diversity," he said. "We have carpenters, mechanics, medical professionals, electricians, and farmers. As a unit, our mission has been search and extraction and decontamination. But our current mission will require us to draw heavily on our civilian skills."

"We are very fortunate to have such talented soldiers to help us accomplish our mission."

The National Guard Readiness Center Sunday was crammed for the deployment ceremony--wall to wall with families, friends, veterans, and political leaders.

17th District Congressman Bobby Schilling was among the visiting dignitaries. He says the Chemical Company and soldiers everywhere are owed gratitude by the whole nation for their service.


(WGIL Photo and News Story by Kyle Schassburger.)
02 13 12 by Newsroom
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