MINNEAPOLIS — It was an official and emotional farewell today for approximately 550 Minnesota National Guard soldiers deploying overseas.
The 34th Infantry Division “Red Bulls” are heading to Kuwait for a mission that was planned months ago , but now has a heightened sense of urgency given current events in the Middle East.
Every deployment is significant and every mission is serious, but this one is in a rough neighborhood. Kuwait is in the middle of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. That puts the soldiers in proximity with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen wreaking havoc in the Red Sea, in addition to non-state actors among the Iranian factions in Iraq and Syria. That was not lost on the soldiers, nor their families Thursday.
“I think it hit me yesterday when he started hauling things out. Before that, he was packing, so it was just mess,” Michon Pfeiffer said.
Her son, Isaiah, is a 23-year-old Eagan native who works in weapons and equipment management.