Two units of the Connecticut National Guard have been deployed for missions that will take them to Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Maj. Gen. Thaddeus Martin announced the departures of about 90 soldiers from Bradley International Airport on Sunday. The troops are headed to Texas for further training and then will depart for the overseas duty lasting nine to 12 months.
At a send-off ceremony honoring 2 units of approx 90 @CTNationalGuard soldiers who are about to be deployed overseas pic.twitter.com/FZKUY0N9DX
— Governor Dan Malloy (Archived) (@GovMalloyOffice) March 5, 2015
About 35 soldiers from the Middletown-based 143rd Regional Support Group will serve in Afghanistan. About 55 members of the Niantic-based192nd Military Police will support detainee operations at Guantanamo.
Martin said the deployment of the Middletown group is taking place with unprecedented speed. They had less than two months to get ready instead of the usual 18 months to 2 years. The unit served tours in Iraq in 2004 and 2009.
The Niantic group also has performed detainee operations in Iraq in 2009.