News from
The Adjutant General's Department

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       Jan. 13, 2006

No. 06-005

KANSAS GUARDSMEN DEPART FOR AFGHANISTAN

Eighteen Kansas National Guardsmen said good-bye to their families and friends during a ceremony in honor of their deployment to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.

The soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 35th Division Artillery, were honored on Saturday, Jan. 7, at Fort Leavenworth. They will become part of an Embedded Training Team (ETT) that will assist in training an Afghan Army Brigade.

“You are never far from our thoughts,” said Brig. Gen. Jonathan Small, assistant adjutant general - Army and commander of the Kansas Army National Guard. “We’ll do everything we can to take care of your families. We want you to know we are as committed to you as you are to the mission.”

Lt. Col. Michael Slusher, commander of the unit, assured the families that the safety of his soldiers was a top priority.

“My promise to the families is that I’ll do everything I can to take care of those precious to you,” said Slusher.

Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the adjutant general, expressed his pride in the deploying soldiers.

“These soldiers join a long roll of fellow soldiers and airmen who have answered their nation’s call to serve far from home and family in order to secure the blessings of freedom for others,” said Bunting. “I know they will do their job with professionalism and distinction. I am immensely proud of them.”

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