Departure ceremony held for Emporia-based 1710th Transportation
Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia, addresses Soldiers from the 1710th Transportation Company during their departure ceremony April 3, 2013, in Emporia. Family, friends, fellow Soldiers and community members joined senior state and Virginia National Guard leaders in bidding an official farewell to the Emporia-based 1710th Transportation Company, 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group. Approximately 160 Soldiers in the unit entered federal active duty April 1 and will conduct their final training at Fort Hood, Texas, for approximately 45 to 60 days before heading on to Afghanistan. Once in country, they are expected to conduct transportation support operations and convoy security for military and host nation convoys, and the mobilization is expected to last 12 months. The 1710th Transportation Company is the first Virginia National Guard unit to serve on federal active duty since the return of Soldiers from the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division in July 2012. They last served on federal active duty in Iraq where they provided medium lift transportation capabilities that moved critical supplies from logistical support areas out to forward operating bases from May 2008 to February 2009. (Photo by Cotton Puryear, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)
Departure ceremony held for Emporia-based 1710th Transportation
Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia, addresses Soldiers from the 1710th Transportation Company during their departure ceremony April 3, 2013, in Emporia. Family, friends, fellow Soldiers and community members joined senior state and Virginia National Guard leaders in bidding an official farewell to the Emporia-based 1710th Transportation Company, 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group. Approximately 160 Soldiers in the unit entered federal active duty April 1 and will conduct their final training at Fort Hood, Texas, for approximately 45 to 60 days before heading on to Afghanistan. Once in country, they are expected to conduct transportation support operations and convoy security for military and host nation convoys, and the mobilization is expected to last 12 months. The 1710th Transportation Company is the first Virginia National Guard unit to serve on federal active duty since the return of Soldiers from the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division in July 2012. They last served on federal active duty in Iraq where they provided medium lift transportation capabilities that moved critical supplies from logistical support areas out to forward operating bases from May 2008 to February 2009. (Photo by Cotton Puryear, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)