STEVE LIEWER
Omaha World-Herald
An Omaha-based Army Reserve unit is headed south for a yearlong deployment early next month.
About 150 family members of soldiers in the 561st Regional Support Group gathered Sunday at the unit’s Elkhorn headquarters for a mobilization ceremony and the symbolic casing of the unit’s flag.
The group will unfurl its colors next month at Fort Hood, Texas, where its soldiers will provide logistical support for other Army Reserve and National Guard units that are deploying overseas or returning home.
The 70 Texas-bound soldiers come from 14 states, said Maj. Christopher Averett, the unit’s public affairs officer. About half of them are from Nebraska and Iowa.
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During Sunday’s ceremony, family members got a close-up look at the unit’s vehicles and equipment. They were also able to talk with several groups that offer support services to the families of deployed service members.
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The unit’s commander, Col. David Newman, paid tribute to those families in his remarks.
“As soldiers, we just could not do our jobs, we could not be soldiers, without the support of our families,†Newman said.
The unit, which was first formed 78 years ago as the 561st, has deployed three times previously in the 21st century: to Iraq in 2004 and 2009, and to Kuwait in 2018.
After a brief presentation, around 27 teachers from around Grand Island were given the opportunity to fly in the Nebraska Army National Guard's Chinook Helicopter. The helicopter route they were taken on spanned over not only the city of Grand Island, but Hastings and Aurora as well.
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