A mobilization ceremony will be held on Sunday for members of the locally based
Charlie Company unit of the Roseburg National Guard, as the citizen soldiers get ready to deploy overseas.
Information from the Oregon Military Department said Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Major General Michael Stencel, the Adjutant General for Oregon, will attend the event. It will be held at 10:00 a.m. at Southern Oregon University’s Raider Stadium in Ashland. Along with soldiers from the 1-186 Infantry Battalion, Guard members from the 141 Brigade Support Division are preparing to depart to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
A second ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Saint Helens High School, for soldiers from Bravo Company, 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion and the 141 Brigade Support Battalion, as they depart for the Middle East.
The two units are part of several deployments that the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team are sending to different areas of the world. In total, the 41st is scheduled to deploy more than 1,600 Oregon service members to five different countries.
Colonel Eric Riley, Commander of the 41st IBCT said the ceremonies offer communities an opportunity to show support for not only the service members, but for their families and employers. Riley said “we are proud to represent Oregon and the Oregon Army National Guard as we mobilize for overseas missions”. Colonel Riley lives in Roseburg.