The commander of the 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade stood at attention during his unit’s departure ceremony at Fort Benning on Sunday and saluted, just moments before his National Guard unit deployed for Afghanistan.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and James B. Butterworth, the state’s adjutant general, stood and returned the salute.
“We are 100 percent dedicated to this mission,” Brigade Commander Andy L. Hall told Deal and Butterworth from the lectern as more than 500 people watched in Freedom Hall. “You have my personal guarantee that this organization is a professional one.”
About 150 Guardsmen from the 1,200-member Columbus unit left Sunday for Fort Hood, Texas, where they’ll train for about two weeks before leaving for Kabul, Afghanistan, for about a year. Guardsmen will get about two days with their families for Christmas before leaving in January, said Capt. Christopher Pollard.
“It ain’t really kicked in, I guess,” said 22-year-old Specialist Jeana Bonaparte, of Columbus, as she held her 1-year-old child, Damien. “I know I’m going to miss this little guy.”
Bonaparte has an identical twin sister, Sgt. Maranda Stubbs, of Marietta, Ga., who also deployed Sunday. Bonaparte joined the Guard in October 2007, and Stubbs followed her lead that January. With their hair pulled back and wearing uniforms, the pair is indistinguishable.
“It feels like high school again,” Stubbs said. “You’ve got your best friend right there with you.”
Both sisters serve as military police in a unit whose purpose is to support other units. They’ll be at the same base, though they don’t know what shifts they’ll be working.
“Sometimes people will come up to me and ask a question and I’m like, ‘You must want to talk to my sister because I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about,” Stubbs said.
While deployed, Damien will stay with Bonaparte’s father and stepmother.
“It’s kind of tough on both of us,” said Ellen Stubbs. “We hate to see them go, but we’ve got something we’ve got to take care of. We’ve got a lot of teaching to do.”
Xiomara Castro, whose 43-year-old husband Sgt. Maj. Felix Castro deployed Sunday, said handling their two children is one of the most difficult parts of the deployment. Sunday’s departure is the second deployment for the Tyrone, Ga., couple in five years.
“We’ll make it,” Xiomara Castro said. “We are a strong family.”
Castro spent part of Sunday collecting phone numbers for the unit’s Family Readiness Group. The group helps families cope during the deployment.
Speaking to the Guardsmen during the departure ceremony, Deal said they inspired him.
“We are privileged to count you among some of the greatest Americans we have,” Deal added. “You are the best that we have to offer in Afghanistan and around the world. You represent the decency and the strength of the American people.”
Congressman Sanford Bishop, whose district includes part of Columbus, said Guardsmen pay the price of freedom as do their families who wait back home.
“You should know that we have your backs,” Bishop added. “We thank you, we love you, we wish you Godspeed.
“Hooah!”
