Hoosier National Guard soldiers to be deployed to aid Operation Spartan Shield

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana National Guard announced on Monday that approximately 600 ING soldiers with the 38th Infantry Division are set for an overseas deployment to Southwest Asia beginning on Sept. 25.

The citizen-soldiers will say farewell to family, friends and fellow Hoosiers during a departure ceremony at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Maj. Gen. Dale Lyles, the adjutant general, and Maj. Gen. Dan Degelow, the division's commanding general, are scheduled to speak during the ceremony at the camp's North Barracks Complex.

"The deploying soldiers will train for about a month at Fort Cavasos, Texas, and from there head to the Middle East in support of Operation Spartan Shield, the United States' operation to strengthen defense relationships and build partner capacity through leader engagements, multinational exercises and response planning," ING officials said.

The troops will be overseas for approximately nine months, with the mobilization lasting nearly 12 months.

Approximately 20 of the 600 soldiers are from St. Joseph, Elkhart, Starke, Marshall and Fulton counties.