Local National Guard Unit Nearing Deployment Date

Effingham City Commissioner Libby Moeller Tuesday shared with the City Council that Illinois National Guard Company B...Bravo Company...headquartered in Effingham will be part of an upcoming deployment of the 130th Infantry Regiment.

The Illinois Army National Guard has announced that Bravo Company, along with companies in Litchfield, West Frankfort, Mt. Vernon and Marion have been mobilized in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. The guardsmen will head to Afghanistan.

The 130th last mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2008 and 2009.

Effingham City Administrator Steve Miller shared that a mobilization send-off ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21 at the Banterra Center at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Families are asked to arrive at 1:30pm, the ceremony will commence at 2pm, and the ceremony will conclude at 3pm.