Alabama Guard Unit Returns From Deployment

Home For Christmas

MONTGOMERY, AL (12/09/2014)(readMedia)-- Alabama Guard Unit Returns From Deployment

Release #2014120801

The Alabama National Guard will welcome home the Soldiers of the 877th Engineer Battalion, out of Haleyville, at a ceremony at 12:00 p.m., December 10, at the Army Aviation Support Facility #2, 5701 East Lake Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35217.

More than 158 Alabama National Guard Soldiers deployed with the 877th Engineer Battalion in April 2014, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The unit mobilized at Fort Bliss, Texas for addtional training before departing for duty in Afghanistan.

The 877th Engineer Battalion provided engineer support for the United States Central Command Material Retrograde Element (CMRE). They completed more than 300 construction/ descoping projects, provided mission command for more than 900 personnel across 4,000 square miles of Afghanistan. The 877th Engineer Battalion supported the retrograde of more than $20 million of material returned to the Army supply system.

National Guard leadership will participate in the homecoming ceremony and family members and the media are encouraged to attend to help welcome the unit home. Please arrive between 11:00 to 11:20 a.m. to be in place before they arrive.

Lt. Col. Shannon Hancock, Alabama National Guard Public Affairs Officer, is the media point of contact for the event. She may be reached at (334) 450-0677 and via email at shannon.m.hancock.mil@mail.mil Media outlets please RSVP no later than Tuesday, 9 December if you plan to attend. The Army Aviation Support Facility #2 is located on the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Air National Guard Compound and you will need to present your media credentials and a state form of identification at the gate for access. Point of Contact for the 117th ARW is Capt Brandi Hyatt at (205) 714-2527.

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WHO:

Alabama National Guard
WHAT:

 Redeployment ceremony for an Alabama Army National Guard unit.
WHEN: Wednesday December 10, 2014 at 12:00PM Central Time (US & Canada)
WHERE: 5701 East Lake Blvd
AASF #2 is the facility name
Birmingham, Alabama 35217
NOTES:

 Media credentials and state identification need to be presented at the gate. RSVP Lt. Col Shannon Hancock, AL NG PAO no later than Tuesday, 9 December at 5:00 p.m.

A correction to the city for the headquarters of the 877th Engineer Battalion is Haleyville and not Hamilton.

Additional information added about the missions that the 877th Engineer Battalion completed while being deployed.