Send-off ceremony set for 50 Iowa Guard soldiers

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Army National Guard has released more details about a Waterloo-based helicopter unit being sent to the Middle East.

The guard says about 50 members are being deployed. The unit, Detachment 1, Company C, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, provides medical evacuations with UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and supplies medical service and support.

A community send-off is July 19 at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Waterloo. The guard says the soldiers will report to Fort Hood, Texas, for additional training before being assigned to a specific overseas location.

The unit was created in 2005. It was mobilized in 2008 in the war on terrorism. It returned from Afghanistan and Iraq in July 2009.