Local Families Prepare for National Guard Deployment

NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – In less than a month, thousands of Mississippi National Guard troops report to Camp Shelby to train for their deployment to Kuwait in Operation: Spartan Shield.

Another type of preparation takes place in the homes of those guardsmen and women.

It’s definitely more mental than physical when talking about being separated from loved ones for an extended period of time.

The preparation these soldiers make may not necessarily make the deployment any easier, but it at least gives a helping hand to families whenever they need it.

“We are leaving here February 5th, going down to Camp Shelby,” said Aberdeen Police Chief, Henry Randle.

From there, the brigade transfers to Fort Bliss Texas, and then on to Kuwait.

“At Fort Bliss in Texas, it’ll be pretty much the same type of training that we have done here in Mississippi,” said MHP Trooper, Brandon Berry. “It will just be a different environment to give us a different aspect in a different terrain that will be similar to what we’ll see in the Middle East.”

These soldiers may have this training down to an art, but on the family side, that preparation doesn’t have a manual.

“You know you’re leaving, so you start making that preparation ahead of time,” said Randle. “You want to attend every church service you can, every family function because you know you’re going to be gone for a period of time.”

For Chief Randle, this will be his second deployment.

He sees how technology has impacted the way loved ones can communicate.

“Skype, cell phones, you know, you can get international plans,” said Randle. “Back in ’03, when we first went over there, it was like one of those time zones where you were living out of the Bible.”

Trooper Berry is trading his Highway Patrol uniform for BDUs for his first deployment.

“It’s something you really can’t prepare for,” said Berry. “Mentally, all you can do is pray and just ensure that you’re ready to be gone that long.”

He’s prepared by surrounding his family with a support group.

“I’ve been able to have family member, friends, contacts that I’ve made through my work and just being from here to make sure that she has a support system while I’m gone back and help her in anyway, help my daughter in anyway, and make sure that as I’m gone there’s somebody that can help her,” said Berry.

As far as their jobs in law enforcement, they will be here when they come home in 2019.

Thanks to modern technology such as FaceTime and Skype, both Randle and Berry will be able to have better contact with loved ones while in Kuwait, making the separation a little bit easier.