Video: A proper sendoff for local soldiers
1Lt. Dustin McCormick of St. Cloud gives his four-month-old daughter Jillian McCormick, held by his mother Vicky Ackerman, her pacificer before a deployment ceremony for the 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment Thursday. -- Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The last wave of Minnesota National Guardsmen departed from the Austin Armory Thursday. In the group, 159 total soldiers deployed — 60 from the Austin unit and seven natives of Austin. A ceremony was held for family members, with the Family Readiness group and Yellow Ribbon organizations on hand for support. The motorcade and Guard units left Austin at noon. They will go to Mississippi for training and arrive in Kuwait this fall.