Guard deploys next week

Sixty soldiers with the Montana Army National Guard’s 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion will leave Kalispell next week for a mobilization station at Fort Hood, Texas.

The unit is deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

A departure ceremony is planned on Monday. The unit leaves at 9 a.m. Tuesday from Glacier Park International Airport.

The soldiers will spend six weeks at Fort Hood to complete their final training prior to departure. The unit is scheduled to be mobilized outside Montana for up to one year, providing sustainment and logistical command support to the theater of operation.

This is the second deployment for the 495th. The first was in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 495th, headquartered in Kalispell, is the battalion headquarters for more than six Montana companies, none of which will be deploying with the battalion. The unit received a notification of sourcing for possible deployment in summer 2011 and has been conducting extensive training since that time.