By M. Queiser
ngmo.pao@us.army.mil
FARMINGTON, Mo. – Two area guardsman will be among the group deploying to Afghanistan with the 1138th Engineer Company, of Farmington. The unit is nearly 93 Soldiers strong.
The unit – which draws soldiers from the 1140th Engineer Battalion in Cape Girardeau – is part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and will be conducting route clearance missions.
Soldiers spent 29 days training at Camp Crowder and Camp Clark for pre-mobilization training that allowed them to learn necessary skills for deployment. Training conducted there included weapons qualifications, route clearance operations and tactics, battle drills and warrior tasks.
Spc. Dillon Rickman, of Dexter has been with the Missouri Army National Guard for seven years.
"Serving in the military is a family tradition", said Rickman. He’s looking forward to continuing that tradition on his first deployment.
“I’ve always liked the military life,” said Rickman. “I wanted to continue my family’s tradition and make them proud.”
Rickman is a 2006 graduate of Bloomfield High School. He is supported in his military career by his wife, Jordan; his son Colton, 2; his mother Anita Duba, of Dexter; and his father Wayne, of Eldorado Springs, Mo.
Spc. Jeffery Vaughn, of Essex, is another member of the 1138th Engineer Company.
Vaughn, who has been with the Missouri Army National Guard for four years and is a combat engineer, said this is his first deployment and that he knows he can rely on the support of the unit for himself and his family.
“I joined to better myself,” said Vaughn. “I wanted to do something to take care of my wife and family.”
Vaughn is a 1990 graduate of Richland High School and is an automotive support manager at Wal-Mart in Sikeston, MO. He is supported in his military career by his wife, Paula; his children Derrick, 22, Brittany, 21 and Megan, 21; his mother Linda Clolinger, of Brownwood, Mo.; and his father Jerry Ray Vaughn, of Dexter.
While deployed, the company will fall under the command and control of the 120th Engineer Battalion, Oklahoma National Guard. The Soldiers are scheduled to return in the spring of 2013.
Currently, Soldiers are finalizing appropriate training for deployment at Fort Bliss, Texas, including squad and platoon battle drills and tasks while being in vehicles and environments similar to that in which they will encounter while deployed. After mobilization training, the Soldiers will deploy to Afghanistan in mid-August.
For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites: www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard www.myspace.com/missouri_ng www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard www.blog.moguard.com
