BOISE, Idaho (KLIX)-Around 40 Idaho National Guard members from the Magic Valley are headed on a year-long mission in Southwest Asia. According to the Idaho National Guard, more than 600 men and women shipped out from Gowen Field Wednesday to be part of Operation Spartan Shield. This is the largest deployment for the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s Task Force Rattler. The governor, top military officials, family and fiends bid the soldiers a heartfelt farewell as they boarded a commercial airliner. “Task Force Rattler is trained, motivated and ready to assume all assigned missions in Southeast Asia,” said Maj. Sam McDowell, task force commander. "This team has rapidly prepared and come together as a cohesive and lethal fighting force.” The mission is part of Operation Enduring Freedom. More than half of the operation will be made up of Idaho soldiers while others from the National Guard in Montana, Ohio, Oregon, and South Carolina will join them. An earlier group of Idaho soldiers deployed on the same mission will return in October.

Idaho National Guard
Idaho National Guard
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