DC Guard aviation unit headed for Afghanistan to perform unique mission

WASHINGTON, DC (08/10/2011)(readMedia)-- A deployment ceremony for the D.C. National Guard's Detachment 4, Operational Support Airlift unit, will be at the 260th Regional Training Institute at Fort Belvoir, Va., at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 12.

The media is invited to attend the event.

When: Friday, Aug. 12 at 10 a.m.

What: Deployment Ceremony, D.C. National Guard, Det. 4, OSA

Where: 260th Regional Training Institute

9000 Gunston Road

Fort Belvoir, Va., 22060

The unit, which is deploying to Afghanistan for about 10 months, will perform a unique and vital mission. The pilots and crew will operate the King Air 300, a civilian fixed-wing aircraft that has been modified to support Task Force ODIN-A. Task Force ODIN, whose name is an acronym for Observe, Detect, Identify, andNeutralize, is a U.S. Army aviation battalion that conducts reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition operations to combat insurgent operators of improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The unit was formed at Fort Hood, Texas, and first deployed to Iraq in October 2006. The unit is meant to meet the critical requirement to win back the roads using Army Aviation assets to maintain a persistent stare over demonstrated at-risk areas for IEDs.

According to General David H. Petraeus, former Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, information provided by ODIN had resulted in the killing or capture of 365 militant leaders, detained 1,335 insurgent foot soldiers, and killed another 1,031 Taliban.