Associated Press - June 9, 2009 7:05 AM ET
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) - A new Tennessee National Guard unit is getting ready for training and deployment to the Persian Gulf.
The Cleveland-based 252nd Military Police Company is made up of mostly young members, who are preparing for deployment from scratch.
Sedara Bond of the unit's Family Readiness Group told the Chattanooga Times Free Press most members of the company are right out of high school and going overseas will be a "really big step" for them.
About 170 soldiers from the 252nd will leave on July 29 to train at Fort Dix, N.J., for about six weeks, then deploy to Iraq for about a year.
The soldiers will come from the unit's headquarters in Cleveland and from its detachment in Alcoa.
Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com
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