GREENVILLE—
As many are preparing to be together with their families for the holidays...members of the 1073rd Maintenance Company of the Michigan National Guard are preparing to say goodbye.They'll be deploying Friday afternoon for a year-long mission in Iraq. 150 soldiers in all will be heading on the mission, focusing on force protection and convoy security. But first, they'll be heading to Mississippi for training. Many are preparing to be away from family members over the holidays: a tough task whether it's a spouse, parent, or child they're leaving behind.
"That makes it a little bit harder, especially when you have young children. You know, they want their daddy to be home for Christmas," said Sgt. Stephen Williamson.
"It's always hard leaving them, they always ask mom, 'where's dad at?' They ask her every day about twice a day, 'where's dad at?' said Staff Sgt. Mark Matthews.
The deployment ceremony will be taking place at 3 p.m., followed by a parade to honor the troops.
