Frank Gambino for Cowboy State Daily
A standing room only crowd filled the Natrona County High School auditorium on Wednesday to bid farewell to 130 members of the Wyoming National Guard who are being deployed to the Middle East.
Friends and family members of the 130 guardsmen departing for a stay of nine months to one year filled the high school’s auditorium to take part in a farewell ceremony.
The guardsmen are part of the 2nd Battalion of the 300th Field Artillery.
Jason Lutz, a Natrona County Sheriff’s Office employee who was leaving for his third deployment, said the farewell ceremony Wednesday was emotional.
“But it’s good to be emotional with them,” he said. “Once we get deployed and get into a groove, and it’s the same with the family, once they get into adjusting, I think everything goes fairly well. It’s going to be a hard time, but we should be able to communicate very well.”
Guardsman Greyson Buckingham is departing for his first deployment and is looking forward to marrying his fiancee when he returns.
“My fiancee is not too thrilled I’m leaving, but she understands,” he said. “She knew what she was signing up for.”
The unit headed first to Fort Bliss in Texas before heading to the Middle East for its sixth deployment.
