State News
Guard unit from Durham holds deployment ceremony
The North Carolina National Guard held a deployment ceremony in Durham Friday for members of the 30th Special Troops Battalion.
Posted — UpdatedRALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina National Guard held a deployment ceremony in Durham Friday for members of the 30th Special Troops Battalion, a part of the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team.
The soldiers will travel for training in anticipation of a deployment to Iraq in the spring. This is their second stint in Iraq. Members of the 30th Brigade served in Iraq in 2005, their first deployment since World War II.
At that time, the brigade patrolled the Iranian border, trained Iraqi troops and built schools primarily in the Diyala Province. Five soldiers were killed and 120 were wounded.
The brigade comprises 3,800 soldiers from North Carolina and West Virginia. The Durham battalion is the newest in the brigade. It was formed during a restructuring after the brigade's 2005 deployment.
The National Guard will hold ceremonies for 26 units by Jan. 2. In April, the entire brigade will gather for a major deployment ceremony at Fayetteville's Crown Coliseum.
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