CORUNNA, MICH. - Approximately 135 Michigan Army National Guard Soldiers from the 144th Military Police Company based in Corunna, Mich., will be honored Sunday, March 2 with a "Freedom Salute Campaign" in recognition of their 15-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom."

The Freedom Salute ceremony honors the families, employers, and other "centers of influence" of each Guard member. Each Soldier will receive an encased American flag, lapel insignia, commemorative coin, and a certificate of appreciation. Soldiers on their second OIF deployment will receive a Freedom ring and their spouse will receive a clock in recognition of their service. The remaining spouses will receive a commemorative lapel pin.

Employers and other centers of influence will receive a medallion. The Soldiers mobilized to Fort Dix, N.J., July 2006 for in-processing and mission specific training and arrived in Iraq in October. While deployed, the Soldiers trained the local Iraqi police forces on military police tactics and prepared them for a transition from coalition policing to Iraqi control. The Soldiers returned to Michigan October 2007.

Today, approximately 1,700 Michigan National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are deployed across the globe at locations such as Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and the Arizona and Texas borders. Since Sept. 11, 2001, approximately 85 percent of the Michigan Guard has deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; however, as Michigan troops serve the nation, more than 80 percent of the Michigan Guard remains available and ready to respond to a state emergency including a terrorist event.

MEDIA ADVISORY

Media is invited to attend the ceremony scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. March 2 at the Shiawassee Readiness Center, 675 W. Corunna Ave. (M-71), Corunna, Mich., 48817 (just east of the Shiawassee County Road Commission.)

(For more information, contact 1st Lt. James Blocker at 269-317-1993 or Staff Sgt. Andrea Spalding at 734-946-2510