RAPID CITY, S.D. — The South Dakota Army National Guard sending off seven soldiers Friday, all being deployed to the Horn of Africa.
The nine-month deployment will be in conjunction with African forces to provide aviation support through a combined joint task force.
The South Dakota Army National Guard’s Detachment 5, Company C, six 41st Aviation Regiment will soon report to Fort Bliss, Texas, before going to Africa.
Leaders of the unit say that these deployments help in the full development of their newer pilots.
“In one way, these deployments really help because it takes a lot of time to build a pilot up from new to being a pilot in command, so we get a lot more hours and a lot more experience on newer pilots on these deployments that helps keep the units seasoned,” said Wayne Walker, Detachment Commander, South Dakota Army National Guard.
Governor Kristi Noem and Representative Dusty Johnson were also in attendance.
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