TULLAHOMA, Tenn. – More than 35 Soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard’s 1-107th Air Operations Battalion, headquartered in Tullahoma, will be leaving this weekend for an 11-month deployment to the Horn of Africa.  

The Guardsmen will be traveling to Fort Hood, Texas, on Sunday to undergo final mobilization training before arriving at their final duty station in Djibouti and Kenya.

“We’re all very excited for the opportunity to deploy overseas,” said Sgt. Maj. John Maison, the 1-107th’s air traffic operations noncommissioned officer. “We’re looking forward to do the job we’ve exhaustively trained for over the last year and we are ready to go.”

While deployed to Djibouti, the 1-107th’s will provide tactical air traffic control and airfield management capabilities to various airfields and be able to rapidly deploy throughout the area to establish air traffic control facilities. They will also establish an air traffic control tower and radar team in Kenya.

On Saturday, Aug. 21, the 1-107th will host a departure ceremony at the 30th Troop Command Armory in Tullahoma for family and friends.

 

******MEDIA COORDINATION INSTRUCTIONS******

 Media interested in attending the departure ceremony must RSVP by calling the 1-107th Air Operations Battalion Administrative Officer at (931) 393-5840 or email Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jason Hakala at jason.w.hakala.mil@mail.mil. The ceremony will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will be located at the 30th Troop Command Armory located at 1402 East Carroll Street in Tullahoma. Media will be met at the Armory’s main entrance and escorted to the ceremony. All CDC guidelines will be adhered to.