This past Sunday, around 700 soldiers from the Ohio National Guard out of Stow had their Call to Duty Ceremony at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. The men and women of the 1st Battalion, 145th Armored Regiment answered the call to duty as they prepare to head to Kuwait later this year as a part of Operation Spartan Shield. This ceremony is what is referrred to as a send-off ceremony. Friends and family just about filled the civic center in Canton to send the troops off in style.
The troops have been training for this deployment all summer and will leave Stow later in the week. From there, they will head to Fort Bliss in Texas for additional training, before actually leaving to go to Kuwait.
Once in Kuwait, they will strengthen defense relationships in the Middle East by promoting regional self- reliance, increase security and improve regional stability. The 1-145 Armored Regiment is led by commander LTC. Jonathan Stewart and Command Sergeant Major Michael Burress. The unit is expected to be deployed for approximately one year.
This particular group of National Guard Troops who are being deployed are part-time soldiers who are leaving behind jobs, family and other responsibilities to serve their country. They are proudly answering the call to serve. Several soldiers from the unit are from this area or have ties to it.
One of the soldiers from the area is the chaplain of the unit. He is Captain Daniel Cartwright. He not only has ties to the area; he lives here too. He currently resides in Hiram Township with his wife and seven children. Captain Daniel Cartwright is the pastor of Covenant Bible Fellowship Church in Garrettsville and he is the son of Daniel and Maureen Brawn of Windham.
Matthew Curry, a 2011 JA Garfield graduate and the son of James and Kimberly Curry of Garrettsville, joined the National Guard in 2012 and will be promoted to E6 Staff Sergeant prior to heading to Kuwait. Matt is employed by Scotchman Electric.
Another Garfield graduate who will be deployed is Noah Heim, class of 2017. Noah resides in Windham and is the son of Dale and Jennifer Heim. He recently graduated from EMS School in Hudson and is employed as a Full Time Honor Guard Member/Employee of the National Guard.
Close to this reporters heart is my niece, Amanda Alberta. She doesn’t live here, but spends a significant amount of her time here from September until May. She bowls on leagues at Skylanes Bowling Alley. She has bowled here on the Tuesday nights for at least three years on the Drop 10 Team. She is originally from Twinsburg but has lived in Aurora and Streetsboro before moving to Canton a few years ago.
The ceremony opened with the soldiers entering the center and an introduction of the unit. It was a sight to behold, watching 700 men and women march into the Canton Memorial Civic Center. They, then played the National Anthem and had the Invocation led by Cartwright. There were several guest speakers including Governor Mike DeWine, along with representatives from Sherrod Brown’s office and David Joyce’s office, all bidding the soldiers farewell and stay safe “orders”. Many of the speakers talked about strength, courage and honor. They all expressed their gratitude to the troops for serving and how proud they are of them. They encouraged the troops, and the families they were leaving behind. It was a wonderful ceremony to honor and thank them for serving.
Following the ceremony, the soldiers were dismissed to spend the afternoon and evening with their families before leaving later in the week.
