Local Soldiers Being Deployed

Some local soldiers are once again being sent overseas.  A deployment ceremony for the 875th Engineer Company of the N.C. Army National Guard will be this Sunday, June 17, 2 p.m., at the John A. Walker Community Center in Wilkesboro.  The 875th is being deployed to Kuwait to serve as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom.  Following the deployment ceremony, the unit will leave later next week for three weeks of training at Fort Bliss, Texas, before departing for Kuwait in July.  Officials from the state National Guard, plus local government officials, have been invited to speak at the ceremony on Sunday at the Walker Center.  The company from Wilkes will conduct several general construction engineer operations during their nine-month deployment in support of Area Support Group-Kuwait.  160 soldiers from the North Wilkesboro and Lexington units will be deployed.  This is the third deployment for the local Guard unit since the September 11, 2001 attack on America.