MARIETTA, Ga. –Soldiers from the Georgia Army National Guard departed today for a deployment
to Djibouti, where they will provide critical fixed-wing aviation support across the Horn of Africa.
The departing element, Bravo Company of the 245th Aviation Regiment, operates the C-26 aircraft.
They will serve primarily under U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), handling VIP transport, cargo
logistics, and casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) missions.
"If somebody needs to get to a higher level of care down in Nairobi, which is obviously a little bit of
a further helicopter ride, we would load them on the airplane and take them down there," said Maj.
Charlie Snyder, the unit commander and a pilot.
Before heading overseas, the unit will spend a brief training period at the Continental U.S.
Replacement Center at Fort Bliss, Texas. Once in theater, the Georgia guardsmen will integrate with
soldiers from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard to form a combined operational team of pilots
and non-commissioned officers.
Col. Christopher Buck, the State Army Aviation Officer for the 78th Aviation Troop Command,
addressed the soldiers and families during the farewell ceremony. He praised the unit’s readiness,
noting they are "peaking at the right time."
“I am incredibly impressed with this team; I have zero worries about you guys being successful at the
mission downrange," Buck said. "They're going to be providing transportation, both VIP, logistics,
and other special missions.”
For Snyder, an Army veteran with years of active-duty service and multiple prior deployments, this
upcoming rotation is relatively short compared to his previous, much longer tours. Still, he
acknowledged the inherent difficulties of leaving home, taking time to thank his family for their
support ahead of their morning departure.
"Deployment is never fun," Snyder told the crowd. "But the good news is, the countdown to going is
kind of the part that you don't like. Now we're at the countdown of coming home. So as soon as we
get on the airplane here and start heading out, we get to count down the days to come home. That's
the silver lining for today."