More than 100 Fort Huachuca soldiers deployed this morning to help maintain communications networks in the Middle East.
The soldiers from Bravo Company, 40th Signal Battalion will be deployed for 15 months to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, protecting and operating Internet and satellite networks.
The deployment marks the first time a unit from Fort Huachuca, roughly 75 miles southeast of Tucson, has been sent abroad this year and comes several months after about 450 other soldiers from the 40th deployed to war zones.
The company was scheduled to deploy with the rest of the 40th in December, but stayed behind for another mission, said Eric Horton, a civilian spokesman for the unit.
Members of the unit held a deployment ceremony Friday because they weren’t sure when they would be leaving. After commanders sorted out transportation issues, the soldiers left Fort Huachuca around 11:30 a.m., Horton said.
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The signal battalion will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of joint coalition computer, communications and command-and-control networks in support of the 160th Signal Brigade's mission in the region.
Some of the unit’s tasks include providing Internet communications services, computer help-desk assistance, satellite transmissions, phone lines and fiber-optic-cable installation. The 40th is part of the 11th Signal Brigade, which is based at Fort Huachuca.
