The Carroll-based 168th Infantry Regiment, Alpha Company, is part of the approximately 2,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers who will begin their 12-month deployment to Iraq on Wednesday, and the community is invited to join in their send-off. Friends and family will gather at 3 p.m. at the Carroll Athletic Stadium on Grant Road to say their farewells, and then, at 4 p.m., the general public is encouraged to participate in a send-off ceremony, featuring Carroll-area native Scott Siepker and Alpha Company Commander Alan Johnson. The deploying soldiers will have about 45 minutes before loading their buses for the trip to Ft. Johnson in Louisiana. During that time, the community is asked to line the buses’ route out of town with their vehicles. The route leaves south out of town along Grant Road to 220th Street, west to U.S. Highway 71, and then south along the highway. The Iowa National Guard is deploying in support of Operation Inherent Resolve to provide security and stability in northern Iraq to combat ISIS spread and influence in the region.
