INDIANAPOLIS - Approximately 60 Indiana National Guardsmen with the 38th Infantry Division are ready to deploy to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The soldiers, led by Lt. Col. James Babbitt and Sgt. Maj. John Folbrecht, will assist with operations of Joint Task Force - Guantanamo in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Guardsmen will oversee safe, secure, humane, legal, and transparent care and custody at the base's detentions facilities.
Babbitt thanked the families during the departure ceremony today, and the soldiers for their readiness.
“To the families, thank you for supporting your loved ones,” said Babbitt. “We’ve been selected to conduct a very important mission, and we are ready.”
Babbitt noted that their training for the mission began in February.
The 38th ID soldiers bring command and control experience to their deployment. In 2009, 38th ID soldiers deployed to Afghanistan that had oversight of other commands throughout the region. Earlier in 2015, soldiers with the 38th trained for an exercise and were in charge of seven brigades and thousands of other troops.
Indiana’s Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr, also spoke during the ceremony at the Cyclone Division Armory in Indianapolis.
“This mission is a perfect fit for our Guardsmen,” said Carr. Being a community-based organization we are constantly working alongside other agencies and at times with our sister services.
For one Indiana Guardsman, Staff Sgt. Brian Schafer, this deployment represents what he’s chosen to do.
“It means I get to be a soldier to do what I signed up to do: help preserve the freedom of the United States of America,” said Schafer, the joint visitors bureau noncommissioned officer in charge. “It’s an important role for any service member.”
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