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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan. 11, 2009 SECOND KANSAS NATIONAL GUARD AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM DEPLOYSA joint Kansas Army and Air National Guard team of approximately 60 personnel will be honored during a ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 14, as the second Kansas team to deploy to Afghanistan as an Agribusiness Development Team (ADT). The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in Building 365, Kansas Regional Training Center, 2929 Scanlan Ave., Salina. The public is cordially invited to attend. Doors open at 10 a.m. “It only makes sense that Kansas would be a part of such critical missions as this one since agriculture is the backbone of our state’s economy,” said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, Kansas adjutant general. “We are sending Guardsmen who work in the agriculture sector here and can share their knowledge with the Afghan people, while still being able to protect and fight, if necessary.” The team, under the leadership of Col. Mike Dittamo, will take over for the first Kansas ADT team which deployed in March 2009 and returns this spring. ADT # 2 will work in conjunction with the Provincial Reconstruction Team, USAID, USDA, the Department of State and other agencies in Afghanistan’s Laghman Province to assist in building capabilities for increased agricultural production, training and services, and improving the safety of food and other agricultural products that are produced and distributed to the Afghan people. They will also assist in the development of sustainable agriculture and other related enterprises that will increase the economic well-being of the Afghans. The Agribusiness Development Team program is a joint effort of several federal government agencies and the National Guard. Information about the program and its goals can be found at http://www.army.mil/aps/08/information_papers/other/ARNG_Agribusiness_Development_Team.html -30- Follow the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KSAdjutantGen |
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