VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Deployments are always a little bit more bitter than sweet – especially around the holidays.
“I’m really excited about today. It’s a really big day obviously. We’re all kind of excited we got a lot of time to spend with our families before we got to leave. We’re going to have a very good mission over there," says Elizabeth Schooley, National Guard Specialist.
Sunday afternoon, around 70 soldiers from Virginia National Guard’s 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion deployed to the Middle East.
Their missions will be different depending on the soldiers’ tasks they are set out to complete. But, no matter the goal, one thing will be the same - their families will be home holding every day life down until they return.
“Christmas is going to be rough. We’ve never missed a holiday. We’ve always spent every holiday together. So, Christmas will be hard," says Stacy Proctor, wife of Master Sergeant Matthew Proctor.
Sunday’s ceremony was complete with encouraging words from Governor Northam and the group’s commander – letting families know the soldiers are well prepared and trained and will be back soon in September of 2019.
