Ackerman community holds ceremony to thank local National Guard unit as armory in Choctaw County closes

ACKERMAN, Miss. (WCBI) – After more than 60 years, the National Guard is leaving Choctaw County as part of the recent consolidation and cost-savings plan by the reserve force’s Mississippi branch.

Staff Sergeant Kevin Raftery has been stationed at the National Guard base in Ackerman for nearly all of his 14-year career as an Army Guard.

“It’s easy to put the uniform on every day when you know that those around you appreciate and see you as a leader in the community,” he said. 

SSG. Raftery has been deployed to both Iraq and Kuwait and responded to emergencies across Mississippi.

“I’ve responded to natural disasters in the state, specifically tornadoes,” he said. “I was too young to respond to Katrina, but I know (for the) older generation, that was a big response.”

Duties at the base for the 30-40 guardsmen stationed in Akerman largely consisted of performing administrative and pre-planning tasks necessary to complete active duty training. Now they are being re-located to Columbus.

For SSG. Raftery, it is almost like leaving home.

“We’re very much enthralled in the community,” he says. “So, we will certainly feel lost not having to be here with them and I know that they’ll feel the loss of not having that presence here either.”

Tuesday, the leadership of Ackerman and Choctaw County held a special ceremony thanking the members of the National Guard for their years of service to the area.

“I’m a former member of this unit here in Ackerman and we just wanted to take this time to thank them for their service to the community, to the county and to our nation,” said Choctaw County Board of Supervisors Vice President Chris McIntire.

The event featured speeches of gratitude from McIntire as well as Ackerman Mayor Tim Cutts.

“They have taught our young children how to grow up past high school, past college and how to be leaders in Mississippi,” Cutts said.

Representatives from the unit were presented with official certificates of appreciation as well as Amazon gift cards.

The process of closing down the armory in Ackerman began earlier in January and is expected to wrap up by the end of the month. The building will then be available to the Choctaw County community for general use.