Jordana Rico holds a handmade sign for Sgt. Bailey Frasch, one of 16 soldiers to be deployed to Kuwait, during a send-off at the National Guard Armory on Aug. 8, 2022. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)
Family and local citizens gathered at the National Guard Armory in Ontario on Monday, Aug. 8, to send off 16 guardsmen for their year-long deployment to Kuwait.
A motorcycle escort, plus vehicles from local fire and ambulance departments, led the way out of the armory grounds as soldiers waved from the windows of their bus. Relatives held handmade signs while others said their goodbyes earlier at a mobilization ceremony held on Sunday.
For some relatives, like Angie and Geraldo Lopez, it isn’t their first send-off – the duo’s son David Rangel will be joining a brother already stationed in Kuwait. For others, like the Hawley family, it will be daughter Leila’s first time seeing her father deployed.
“It never gets easier,” said Angie Lopez.
The 16 guardsmen will supplement a unit from Idaho as part of Operation Spartan Shield in Kuwait, said Lt. Matthew Booher. They will first train for two months at Fort Bliss, Texas, before heading for a 10-month stint in Kuwait.
Guardsmen chat while waiting in the lobby of the National Guard Armory in Ontario on Aug. 8, 2022, before their deployment. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Leila Hawley works on a poster for her father half an hour before he leaves from the National Guard Armory in Ontario for year-long deployment on Aug. 8, 2022 (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Miguel Salvador is the last to exit the National Guard Armory as all 16 soldiers make their way to the bus for departure on Aug. 8, 2022. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Jordana Rico draws a cherry on the top of a poster for Sgt. Bailey Frasch before her year-long deployment on Aug. 8, 2022. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Trees line the walkway from the front doors of the National Guard Armory to the parking lot where families, motorcycle escorts, and a loaded bus await. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Angie and Geraldo Lopez make their way across the parking lot to send off son David Rangel on Aug. 8, 2022. David will join his brother, who is already stationed in Kuwait. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Guardsmen chat on the bus outside the National Guard Armory while preparing for departure on Aug. 8, 2022. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)The Lopezes and Autumn Harvey wave goodbye to their sons as they depart for a year-long deployment to Kuwait from the National Guard Armory in Ontario on Aug. 8, 2022. “Tell me it gets easier,” said Harvey. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Departing soldiers David Rangel and Cody Harvey wave goodbye to their parents as they head out from the National Guard Armory in Ontario on Aug. 8, 2022. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Stacey Vasquez, a military and family readiness specialist at the Oregon National Guard, waves during a motorcycle escort send-off for soldiers at the National Guard Armory in Ontario on Aug. 8, 2022. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)Angie Lopez and Autumn Harvey, mothers of guardsmen David Rangel and Cody Harvey respectively, embrace after their sons’ departure from the armory on Aug. 8, 2022. (The Enterprise/CYNTHIA LIU)
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