Ceremony Saturday for 1221st deployment

DEXTER — A crowd of people, including city and county officials, will be on hand Saturday to bid farewell to the 1221st Transportation Company as they deploy to Europe.

The announcement was made earlier in the month that there would be a departure ceremony at the Bearcat Event Center at Dexter High School at 3 p.m. Saturday. Family members, friends and supporters will be able to gather for this event.

The 1221st Transportation Company has historically been deployed for both the state and federal missions. The company was last activated in April 2020, in response to the COVID-19 situation. Prior to that, they had been deployed in 2003 for operation Iraqi Freedom.

Being a support service company, the 1221st plays a vital role, according to the press release from the Missouri National Guard Public Affairs Office.

They will be deployed for Operation European Assure Deter and Reinforce. Serving in and around Poland, they will be busy transporting “containerized, non-containerized, palletized, dry and/or refrigerated cargo, and bulk water products.” Duty uniform is authorized for military members who plan to be in attendance for the ceremony.