Raleigh, NC-- A familiar scene played out for nearly 400 North Carolina National Guard Soldiers around the Triad, their communities said goodbye.
The men and women from units based in Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem and Reidsville were allowed to hold individual farewell cermonies before departing for peacekeeping duty in the Sinai.
The NC National Guard has traditionally had one large ceremony at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro.
The Triad-area units, along with a fifth element based in Louisburg, NC, make up the Guard's 5th Battalion, 113th Field Artillery Regiment. The Regiment will ultimately field more than 430 Soldiers for the mission in Egypt.
The unit will observe and report on compliance with the 1979 peace accord between Israel and Egypt. Prior to departing the United States, the Battalion will train at Camp Atterbury, Ind. The unit will leave the country in early December and will return to North Carolina in September of 2013.
Saturday Ceremonies included:
Battery A out of High Point, Battery B out of Winston-Salem, and
Battery C out of Greensboro.
Sunday, the schedule of farewell ceremonies for the Battalion's units:
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Louisburg, N.C.
10am - Louisburg College Auditorium
501 North Main Street, Louisburg, NC
732nd Forward Support Company, Reidsville, NC
2pm - Osborne Baptist Church
326 E. Stadium Drive, Eden, NC
**Information for this story provided by NC National Guard Public Affairs Office
WFMY News 2/NC National Guard