Local men and women from the Mississippi Army National Guard will be deploying this weekend.
Newton’s 1st Battalion, 204th Air Defense Artillery Regiment are leaving for two different missions this week.
Special Sgt. John Mason, spokesperson for the Newton branch of the Army National Guard, said the one group will be headed to Washington, D.C., to provide short-range air defense of the nation’s capital. This will be the fourth rotation defending the National Capital Region and the first since an 11-month mission during 2015 and 2016.
The other will be headed for a training mission “in the European theater.” Those headed there will be participating in the European Deterrence Initiative.
“I cannot comment on the details of what their mission is due to reasons of national security,” Mason said. “They will be gone for a year’s long training mission.”
Before the troops head out on their missions, Mason said family and friends will be participating in a send-off ceremony at the Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium on the campus of East Central Community College on Friday morning.
The troops will then depart the area on Saturday to begin their missions.
The 1-204th ADA, headquartered in Newton, is assigned to the 631st Field Artillery Brigade, Grenada, MS; which is assigned to the 66th Troop Command, Mississippi Army National Guard. The Newton regiment also has batteries located in Bay Springs, Forest and Morton.
It is one of seven National Guard units that conducts this mission — one that is only conducted by the National Guard. In 2003, the 1-204th was the first National Guard air defense artillery battalion to execute National Capital Region defense. The unit was also previously deployed to Iraq.
