The Maine National Guard said Tuesday it will deploy a Bangor-based unit in February to support military operations in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, which includes countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Thirty-six soldiers with the Army National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment will provide air support for a year to two ongoing U.S. Army and joint campaigns, Inherent Resolve and Spartan Shield, which are focused on countries in the Middle East like Iran, Iraq and Syria.
The regiment operates a Black Hawk helicopter and is trained to support combat troops and conduct air assault and air movement missions, according to the Guard.
“Our soldiers have been training hard — just as you’d expect them to be doing — and we know they will do Maine and our country proud,” said Brig. Gen. Dean Preston, the commander of the Maine Army National Guard.
The last Maine-based Army aviation unit deployed in 2018, when a unit decamped to Afghanistan to provide emergency en-route patient care and transport medical personnel and supplies for a year.
