Hometown Military News: Jan. 29, 2016

Posted on January 29, 2016

Hometown Military News for Jan. 29, 2016:

Springfield-based Illinois National Guard Unit mobilizes for Afghanistan

SPRINGFIELD – A deployment ceremony is scheduled for approximately 30 soldiers who will deploy to Afghanistan.

The ceremony for the 233rd Military Police Company in Springfield will be Friday afternoon at the Illinois Military Academy on Camp Lincoln in Springfield.

The soldiers will train for a brief time at Fort Bliss, Texas, before deploying to Afghanistan. The 233rd MPs will provide security operations in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, which is the new name for operations in Afghanistan.

The company is expected to return home in December 2016.

Click here to see WJBC’s Hometown Military News archive.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…