No. 4
Soldiers, guardsmen head for Iraq

By By Penny Randall / staff writer
Jan. 1, 2004
Although the war in Iraq officially began on March 19, military and National Guardsmen throughout East Mississippi had been preparing for weeks to do their part in the conflict.
In February 2003, six members of the Mississippi Air National Guard 238th Air Support Operations in Meridian went on active duty and were sent to an undisclosed location overseas.
Shortly after that, members of the 186th Air Refueling Wing headed for Iraq where many rotated in and out of the Middle East for weeks. When some returned home, they received a hero's welcome.
That happened June 3, when Master Sgt. Charles Wesley Smith was among three dozen soldiers who returned home to Key Field to find his family and friends waiting to greet him.
Mississippi soldiers are still overseas; additional troops continue to be activated. In fact, 59 members of the National Guard's 185th Aviation Unit Company G in Meridian will leave for Iraq on Saturday.