Patriotism soars as soldiers leave for Iraq training

From there, they will be sent in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, although the transportation company?s ultimate destination is not being disclosed at this time.

The Warren County soldiers who reportedly left yesterday are Specialist Samuel Nunley, Sgt. Melissa Cox, Sgt. John Mark Norris, Sgt. Alicia Templeton and Staff Sgt. Danny Gillette.

?I?ve been to a lot of these and this was a very special one,? said National Guard spokesman Nate Crawford. ?It was really emotional. There were a lot of tears and a lot of hugs before the buses were boarded.?

The soldiers are members of the Tennessee Army National Guard?s 1175th Transportation Company, which is composed of units from Tullahoma, Brownsville and Jacksboro. The guardsmen met yesterday at the armory in Tullahoma and departed around 8 a.m. The soldiers traveled by bus to Nashville and then flew to Ft. Bragg.

At Ft. Bragg, the approximately 235 soldiers will undergo a train-up period. Army officials have not revealed how long that period will be before the soldiers are deployed to the Middle East.

Their mobilization period is expected to be for one year.