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SALT LAKE CITY — Tears were shed and goodbyes were wished Monday afternoon as 99 Utah Army National Guard soldiers deployed to the Middle East.
The soldiers from Echo Battery, 1st Battalion, 145th Field Artillery, will take part in a "peace-keeping, partnership-building mission," according to Capt. Jared Sorensen, the commander of Echo Battery. "We're there to guard strategic assets."
The mission will also include conducting artillery missions with Middle Eastern partners.
Families, many clad in red, white and blue, fanned themselves in the broiling heat of a Utah Air National Guard hangar during the afternoon's deployment ceremony, listening as commanding officers made their final remarks to families and soldiers before the coming deployment.
"This is the Superbowl for us, this is what we do," Maj. Gen. Jefferson Burton said to the crowd. "We train on day-to-day ops so we can deploy and do these very difficult jobs. And I have no doubt in my mind that this unit is ready."
The unit is the second of a two-part, nine-month deployment rotation — relieving a Utah National Guard element that deployed in September 2017.
For 2nd Lt. Corrine Galland, who performed the ceremony's national anthem, there is a closer connection to this deployment than most. While she may not be departing herself, her new husband is. Galland married departing 1st Lt. Colter Bowman this last Saturday.
Of performing the national anthem at her husband's deployment, Galland said, "It makes me feel like I'm more involved. I'll do whatever I can to support him."
This is Bowman's first deployment, and while Galland finds his new mission a little nerve-racking, she's ready for her own.
"I'm excited," Galland said with a grin that matched her enthusiasm. "I'm ready to go if they want me to go."
Many of the ceremony's remarks sought to assure families and friends that their departing soldiers were prepared for the trials ahead.
"Folks, these soldiers are ready. They are trained, they are manned, they are equipped and they will go and they will accomplish this mission," Brig. Gen. Dallen Atack said. "For anyone questioning this current generation, stop. This generation have earned every right to stand up with every generation that's gone before them."
The soldiers departed a chartered flight at 6 p.m. Monday, headed to Fort Bliss, Texas, for additional training before their mission overseas. A flight delay gave the families an extra hour to spend with each other.
"It's kind of bittersweet," Staff Sgt. Sean Sullivan said, with his 2-year-old daughter May in his arms and wife, Kim Sullivan, at his side. "Right now its kind of more bitter than anything."
The sight was repeated across the hangar — Young soldiers gripping the hands of loved ones and children wrapped around their legs. This is Sullivan's first deployment.
"I've been better," Kim Sullivan said, laughing. "Kind of emotionally raw and overwhelmed."
Many of the young departing soldiers have built families in the area and now have to leave them behind for the mission's expected nine-month duration. The hangar was filled with strollers, newborns and toddlers waving miniature American flags — kids without a full grasp of the day's meaning.
Sgt. Del Villaverde chased his son, Matthew, who just turned 4, among the throngs of people in the hangar. Villaverde deployed once before to Afghanistan in 2010.
"The first time I went, I didn't have him," Villaverde said as he kept an eye on his wandering son. "I was happy I was able to hang out with him for his birthday but I don't know if I'm going to make it for the next one. Just trying to get my time in."
Villaverde said he's talked with his son about the deployment, but added with a chuckle, "he doesn't quite understand," as the boy dove through the legs of the neighboring families.
Josh Andrew and his father, Mark Andrew, stood quietly by the large hangar doors a few minutes before the younger man's scheduled departure. Their quiet stance stood out among the chaos of the other families. This may be Andrew's first deployment, but he appeared laid back ahead of the coming experience.
"I don't know, I'm pretty neutral," he said. "I guess I don't know what to feel yet."
"His wife's pregnant, delivering in October," his father added. "And he's got a 3-year-old son."
While Josh Andrew, a few minutes away from a new journey, portrayed relaxation, his father may not have been quite as calm as his son.
"I'm a little nervous," Mark Andrew said. "I know he's going to be in a non-combat role but I'm just nervous about how things can develop — things can develop fast — and I'm just making sure he's taken care of, that our daughter-in-law and grandchildren are taken care of. But, I think we have an overall feeling that everything is going to be just fine."
Email: awilliams@deseretnews.com
