TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It was a bittersweet ceremony held Friday morning out in Marana for the Arizona National Guard Soldiers who will be deploying overseas.
Family and friends of the 28 soldiers spent the morning taking pictures and hugging their loved ones.
The guardsmen are with Detachment One, Charlie company, 2nd battalion 149th Aviation Regiment "MEDEVAC."
They'll provide continuous medical evacuation support for the U.S. Forces, NATO, Kosovo and host country nationals.
"I'm feeling excited," U.S. Army Flight Medic Roger Munoz shared. "I love to be able to serve and to be able to to be deployed to do my job actively. It's a very exciting experience and given the job, critical care flight paramedic, having the opportunity to actually treat live patients in the back of the helicopters is something I live for."
The service men will also operate UH-60 Blackhawks in support of Operation Joint Guard- Kosovo Force.
"I'm feeling good. We've been training for quite a few years to go out and do missions like this. So we're all super excited," Arizona National Guard Soldier Johnathan Lake said."Flying is a blast, going out to help people. It's a good mission, you get something out of it. So even when we're back home with our families, you can still feel a sense of pride for going out there and helping somebody else."
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Denelle Veselik is an anchor and investigative reporter for KGUN 9. It's been her dream to tell your stories for the past decade. She is extremely curious and wants to continue to use her storytelling for the greater good. Share your story ideas and important issues with Denelle by emailing denelle.veselik@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter.
