10 soldiers from local Guard base leave home, loved ones for Europe deployment

Soldiers deploying to Europe for the next year were honored Saturday, Dec. 13, at a ceremony at Fort Indiantown Gap.

The 10 soldiers are with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, a part of the 213th Regional Support Group. According to a release from the 109th MPAD, the soldiers will serve in Germany with U.S. Special Operations Command Europe, supporting the military’s European Defense Initiative.

They were honored during a deployment ceremony at the Keystone Conference Center on the base. During the ceremony, Major Gen. John Pippy, adjutant general of Pennsylvania, praised the soldiers and their families for their dedication to duty and selfless service.

“Every one of our teammates here is talented, has won awards,” Pippy said. “But more importantly, [they] have helped us tell the story of the Pennsylvania National Guard.”

According to the release, the 109th MPAD while overseas “will deliver essential public affairs planning and coverage of SOCEUR’s mission to collaborate, train and provide deterrence alongside allies … by releasing timely and accurate information.”

The European Defense Initiative boosts the American military presence and readiness in Europe and seeks to enhance the security and capacity of NATO allies and regional partners, the release explains.

“Readiness isn’t just about repetition and rehearsals,” Major Travis Mueller, commander of the 109th MPAD, said in a statement. “It’s about character. It’s about staying late and lifting each other through the grind.”

The 109th MPAD went through a rigorous training program since 2021 to prepare for this assignment, training on multiple physical requirements such as 12-mile ruck marches and fitness tests. Soldiers completed multiple real-world media engagements and newsroom visits, covering major exercises overseas, including in Tunisia in 2023 and Germany in 2024. This past April, the unit endured a field training exercise simulating combat media operations.

The unit also passed a demanding validation exercise of real-world events requiring public affairs coverage, including the production of photo, video and news content as well as media engagement with local news reporters, the release says. Since 2021, the 109th MPAD has released over 5,329 images, 558 videos and 106 news stories to the public.

“You’re trained. You’re prepared and you’ve committed yourself to excellence,” Col. Jeremy Coleman, commander of the 213th RSG, said at the ceremony.

Several deploying members of the unit are award recipients of the Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Communications Awards Competition, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal or inductees into the Honorable Order of St. Gabriel by the Army Public Affairs Association.