ST. THOMAS — Twenty-four VI Guardsmen will leave the territory next weekend for deployment overseas, a press release VING issued today has made known. Predeployment training and a farewell ceremony will occur here this weekend. Above, VI Guardsmen march during 2015 Veterans Day celebrations in Frederiskted, St. Croix.
The State Family Program Office of Virgin Islands National Guard will conduct yellow ribbon training for soldiers of HHC 786th Support Battalion. The training will take place on January 16-17 at the Sugar Bay Resort.
According to the release, overall, the National Guard trains monthly and during its annual training. For the past year, the HHC 786th unit has been training on tasks specific to the deployment.
A deployment can be emotionally challenging and stressful for a military family, and through the yellow ribbon reintegration program (YRRP), military families learn ways they can become resilient when facing deployment challenges, including how to prepare children to cope with the separation.
On Sunday, January 17, at 5 p.m., the Adjutant General of the Virgin Islands, Brigadier General Deborah Y. Howell, will host a farewell ceremony for the departing soldiers at the Sergeant First Class Leonard B. Francis Readiness Center (armory) in Estate Nazareth. Both the farewell ceremony and yellow ribbon tree-adorning ceremony will recognize the soldiers deploying.
The HHC 786th Support Battalion will deploy to an unknown location for a nine-to-12-month mission. The final send-off is Sunday, January 24, at 12:30 p.m. at the Cyril King Airport as they depart to a military installation stateside for further training in preparation for the mission, the release concluded.
Tags: st thomas, us virgin islands, veterans
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