Guard unit to be deployed

In a press release in late January, the South Dakota National Guard Public Affairs Office released a statement announcing that the South Dakota Army National Guard’s 1742nd Transportation Company has received “an alert order” for possible mobilization to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Although the unit’s headquarters are in Sioux Falls, this directly hits home because its Detachment 1 is in Flandreau.

The mission for these 169 assigned members will be to “provide transportation of both dry and refrigerated containerized cargo, general non-containerized cargo and bulk water and fuel products.”

The unit will report to Fort Hood, Texas, to complete several weeks of “theater-specific training prior to deployment overseas.”

The 169 assigned members of the 1742nd are scheduled to deploy sometime between December 2013/January 2014.