Photo provided by The Indiana National Guard Indiana National Guard soldiers with the 38th Infantry Division bow their heads during an invocation at their departure ceremony at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, Indiana, Wednesday, Sept. 25. 2024. Approximately 600 Hoosier Guardsmen are deploying overseas to support Operation Spartan Shield in the Middle East.
By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry | Indiana National Guard Headquarters
For The Republic
EDINBURGH, Ind. — Approximately 600 Indiana National Guard soldiers with the 38th Infantry Division bid farewell to loved ones during a departure ceremony at Camp Atterbury Wednesday.
The division troops will deploy to the Middle East in support of Operation Spartan Shield, the United States’ operation to strengthen defense relationships and build partner capacity through leader engagements, multinational exercises and response planning.
“The men and women assembled here today have answered the call to serve our state and nation,” said Maj. Gen. Dan Degelow, the division’s commanding general during his speech. “You warriors have trained for this important mission, you have given and continue to give of yourselves, and you stand ready for what lies ahead.”
What they’re ready for and what lies ahead is an overseas deployment slated for about nine months, with the soldiers’ mobilization lasting approximately a year. Yet, the soldiers’ first stop will be at Fort Cavasos, Texas, for about a month for additional individual and unit training before heading overseas.
As the soldiers head overseas and conduct their missions, their families will keep their soldiers in their hearts.
The Indiana National Guard’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Dale Lyles, thanked the families for their enduring support.
“The country owes a great deal of gratitude that we can never repay by knowing that we live in a free and democratic country, the best country in the world, because of the families who support the soldiers who are getting ready to deploy,” said Lyles in his ceremony speech.
The families also supported their division soldiers who have trained and prepared for their upcoming mission over the last 12 months, which included a warfighter exercise in June and medical response training in February.
Many of the unit’s soldiers deployed for the same mission, Operation Spartan Shield, in 2019 and returned in April 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Also this time, like last, they are scheduled to replace the soldiers from the 34th Infantry Division.
The 38th Infantry Division, headquartered in Indianapolis and also known as the Cyclone Division, traces its lineage to 1917 and is one of eight National Guard divisions. The division is deployable for state and national missions in multidomain operating environments, and its soldiers can provide command and control over Army forces engaged in decisive and shaping operations.
