Vermont National Guard deploying to Southwest Asia in June

An air ambulance unit of the Vermont National Guard will deploy in June to Southwest Asia on a mission that could involve combat zones, the Guard announced Friday morning.

The deployment includes about 60 members of the Army National Guard's Charlie Co. Deployments typically last about a year, the Guard said.

Charlie Co., which will deploy with six Vermont National Guard Black Hawk helicopters, will perform medical evacuations and will support Missouri National Guard's 35th Combat Aviation Brigade as part of "Operation Spartan Shield."

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Troops that are a part of "Spartan Shield" operate throughout Southwest Asia and the Middle East, said Vermont Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, but the military does not specify basing locations.

The medical company’s commander, Maj. Jamie Lewandowski, said the Vermont Guard has conducted medical evacuations in the past in Bosnia, Iraq and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Most of the 60 soldiers are leaving civilian jobs, Lewandowski said, thanking employers for their willingness to work with the Guard.

It will be a first deployment for about half of the unit, Lewandowski said. The major has been deployed to a combat zone previously, during the Guard's 2010 tour in Iraq.

Last summer, Cray said the Vermont Guard was ramping up training to be ready for a "major deployment" in 2019.

The brigade is still training and preparing for a potential large-scale deployment in 2019 or 2020, said Lt. Mikel Arcovitch on Friday, though no definitive mission plans have been announced.

Contact Jess Aloe at 802-660-1874 or jaloe@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @jess_aloe