Soldiers and familes being served a good meal

2,400 Minnesota National Guard Soldiers are nearing the end of their training at Ft. McCoy, Wisc., and are preparing to depart for a for a one-year deployment to Iraq and Kuwait in support of Operation New Dawn.

In recognition of the completion of training, "Serving Our Troops," a St. Paul-based civic organization led by business leaders, elected officials and restaurateurs will provide a steak meal to the deployed Soldiers and their families on Sunday, July 10th from 3 p.m. to 7: p.m. at Ft. McCoy, near Sparta, Wisc.

 Since 2004, the group has organized seven events that haveprovided more than 50,000 meals to Citizen-Soldiers and their families. "Serving Our Troops" has done this at two mobilization stations (Camp Shelby, Mississippi in 2006; and Ft. Sill, Oklahoma in 2008); as well as special events where volunteers simultaneously served meals to deployed Minnesotans in theater and their families at home stations while connecting the events via video conference (Camp Bonsdteel, Kosovo in 2004 and 2008; Camp Adder,Iraq in 2007; Camp Buehring, Kuwait in 2009; and COB Basra in 2009). These efforts were entirely funded and staffed by volunteers. 

2,400 Soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard left Minnesota for training on May 22, 2011, for a one-year deployment in support of Operation New Dawn. This is the second largest deployment of the Minnesota National Guard since World War II. Operation New Dawn is the drawdown phase of US military operations in Iraq, and these Minnesota Soldiers will play an important role in the final drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq. The 1st Brigade Soldiers, stationed in Kuwait, will provide base defense in Kuwait and perform route security operations in support of U.S. Forces throughout Iraq. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division represent 530 communities throughout Minnesota and fifteen other states.