WATERLOO - A community send-off ceremony for approximately 65 Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers mobilized with Detachment 1, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 211th General Support Aviation Battalion, will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5, at Hawkeye Community College, Waterloo. Local officials and Iowa National Guard leadership will participate.

Det. 1, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 211th Aviation, is based at Waterloo. The unit provides aerial medical evacuations via UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, supplying medical service and support for patients enroute to combat support hospitals. The unit was created in 2005 and comprises the former Troops D, E and F of 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry, all of Waterloo.

The soldiers will depart Iowa for their mobilization station at Fort Sill, Okla., where they will receive several weeks of mission-specific training. Upon completion of additional training, they will deploy to the Central Command (CENTCOM) theater of operations in support of the global war on terrorism.

The DoD mobilization policy goal is to mobilize National Guard and Reserve service members for no longer than 12 consecutive months, but if necessary, those servicemembers can serve up to 24 months consecutively on active duty.