La. Guard aviation Soldiers depart for dual missions at Fort Drum, Southwest Border
By Capt. Peter Drasutis, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office
HAMMOND, La. – The Louisiana Army National Guard’s Detachment 1, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment, held a departure ceremony at the 204th Theater Airfield Operations Group/1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment Readiness Center in Hammond, Louisiana, Sept. 13, recognizing Soldiers preparing to deploy in support of two separate missions across the United States.
Senior Louisiana Army National Guard aviation leaders attending the ceremony were Col. Timothy Cleighton, state aviation commander, and Col. Jacques Comeaux, commander of the 204th Theater Airfield Operations Group.
The unit will support an aeromedical evacuation mission at Fort Drum, New York, providing round-the-clock evacuation support to service members, while other Soldiers will deploy in support of the Southwest Border mission alongside interagency partners.
“Our nation and military leadership have called upon this formation to carry out two vital missions,” said Lt. Col. Brandon Lemley, commander of the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment. “Two missions, two locations, one team. Whether saving lives or helping secure our borders, this unit stands ready.”
Lemley praised the Soldiers for the work and training that prepared them for the missions and emphasized the importance of maintaining standards and looking after one another throughout the deployment.
“My intent is simple: maintain the standard, accomplish the mission and take care of one another,” Lemley said. “We will execute with excellence, uphold the legacy of our battalion and bring everyone home safely.”
Capt. Gary Eicke, commander of Detachment 1, Company D, thanked the Soldiers for their dedication and recognized the sacrifices made by their families as the unit prepares to depart.
“Our families make the greatest sacrifice, and that’s because they were never asked to make the sacrifice in the very beginning,” Eicke said. “They were either married into it or born into it.”
Eicke acknowledged the missed holidays, anniversaries and everyday moments families will experience during the deployment and emphasized the role their support plays in allowing Soldiers to focus on the mission.
“The strength and support that you show at the family level, from the house, that is what allows the Soldier to do their duty with confidence and to know that everything is okay back on the home front,” Eicke said.
As a sign of commitment to the missions ahead, Sgt. 1st Class Joel Fisher, detachment noncommissioned officer in charge, led the Soldiers in reciting the Soldier’s Creed before the ceremony concluded with the Army Song.
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