FORT RILEY, Kan. - Soldiers from the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, deployed from Fort Riley to Afghanistan throughout the month of August in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Demon Brigade departed Kansas in several groups, sending more than 2,000 soldiers overseas. The CAB hosted a small deployment ceremony for each group at the 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st CAB hangar, which included a block of time for soldiers and families to say farewell.
“You’re support of these soldiers is key,” Lt. Col. Jon Spell, commander of the 2nd GSAB, 1st Aviation Regiment, said while addressing family members at a ceremony. “It’s going to be a key to our success in Afghanistan.”
Many of the deployment events saw several hundred soldiers leaving in a group. While other ceremonies were hosted for only a few.
One ceremony had just three soldiers who were departing.
Regardless of how many soldiers were leaving that day, every ceremony had family members, community members, and fellow soldiers there to support the CAB’s mission.
“Thank you for lending (the soldiers) to us for a little while so they can go downrange and take care of their job,” Capt. Kevin Daul, the 1st CAB rear detachment chaplain, said to families at a ceremony.
Departing soldiers took time before each ceremony to say final goodbyes to their families. Soldiers hugged loved ones, played with children, talked to each other and even played with pets one last time.
Following designated family time each group lined up in formation for the small ceremony that consisted of a prayer from a chaplain and a speech from a commander within the brigade. The soldiers then marched out of the hangar doors to applause from those attending.
“It’s now our time to write our history,” Col. Matthew Lewis, the 1st CAB commander, said, “for you soldiers to write your history.”
The 1st CAB is replacing the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, and will be deployed to Afghanistan for about nine months.