Departure ceremonies will be held Monday, June 7th and Wednesday June 9th 2004, for the 2101st Transportation Company from Camden, Aliceville and Butler called to active duty to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The deployment ceremony for Detachment 2 of the 2101 will be held in Butler on Monday June 7th at 5:00 p.m. at Ft. Bob Locke, 1018 West Pushmataha. The ceremony for Detachment 1 will be held on Monday in Aliceville at 6:00 p.m. at the unit’s armory at 539 Memorial Parkway.

The 2101st will have a unit deployment ceremony in Camden on Wednesday June 9th at 10:00 a.m. in the units armory located at 327 Whiskey Run Rd. Senior Guard officials will join with other state, county and local officials to address Guard members and their families during these ceremonies.

The 2101st Transportation Company is made up of approximately 140 members the unit will report to its mobilization station after the ceremonies to begin preparing for an overseas deployment in support of operations in Iraq.

The unit’s mission is to provide personnel and equipment for the movement of bulk petroleum products to military forces.

The 2101 is equipped with 7,500-gallon tanker trailers and M915A3 trucks, the most modern long-haul tractor in the U.S. Army inventory.

The trucks have automatic transmissions, air conditioning and anti-lock brake systems. The six-cylinder engines can generate 430 horsepower. They are the only unit in Alabama equipped to handle refueling operations.

Three other Alabama Guard units remain on alert for possible mobilization – 1200th Engineer Battalion of Linden; 128th Medical Company based out of Ashland, and Selma’s 122d Corps Support Group.

The activation of the 2101st will run the number of Alabama Army and Air National Guard called to active duty since 9-11 to nearly 8,000 personnel.