National Guard Unit to Return from Middle East

SMYRNA (February 1) – Nearly 335 Soldiers from the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 181st Field Artillery Regiment, are scheduled to return home this week after a successful 10-month deployment to the Middle East.

Roughly 195 soldiers are scheduled to arrive on February 3, with an additional 140 scheduled to return on February 5.

On February 3, at approximately 12:30 p.m., nearly 115 soldiers will arrive by aircraft at Smyrna’s Volunteer Training Site. Once they land, their families, friends, and fellow service members will welcome them home before completing a short in processing and then being released to their families. A second aircraft with approximately 80 soldiers are scheduled to arrive in Smyrna at 1:30 p.m. and complete the same process. All times are CST.

The soldiers returning home on February 5 will also be coming to Smyrna with time of arrival forthcoming.

The 1-181st was a part of Task Force Iron Valor and deployed to six different countries in the Middle East under U.S. Central Command. They supported Operations Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve, departing Tennessee early last March. The 1-181st is headquartered in Chattanooga with units in Pulaski, Lawrenceburg, Fayetteville and Dayton. The soldiers are currently at Fort Bliss, Texas, where they are demobilizing and out-processing.