BREAKING NEWS: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Deploys National Guard Troops To Southern Border

okay ladies and gentlemen good morning and welcome to the first Battalion 142nd filled Artillery Brigade departure ceremony on behalf of the soldiers and leaders in attendance thank you for attending today's ceremony for the upcoming Mission and support of operation Lone Star the ceremony is designed to recognize the soldiers and families for their self-lessertives and dedication to duty for the mission that they are about to embark on and defense of our great nation we are honored to have with us today our distinguished guests the governor of the state of Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders the adjutant General of Arkansas Major General Jonathan Stubbs the 142nd would also like to extend a welcome to the many other distinguished guests in attendance and last but certainly not least we extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude to the families and friends in attendance today I'm captain Andrew Pang and I will be your Master of Ceremonies ladies and Gentlemen please stand for the invocation given by chaplain Robert Burch good morning everyone please join your hearts with mine in prayer Almighty and loving Heavenly Father we thank you for your presence with us today and for your ever abounding goodness and faithful love toward us we thank you for buildings and vehicles that have air conditioning capabilities on nice warm days like today we thank you for giving us another day to serve you and to serve each other and that we can gather together for this ceremony we ask that you'll be present with us during today's events as well as the days and weeks to come I thank you Lord for these soldiers here today in their commitment to this country please bless them for the sacrifices they make to preserve our great country and keep it free as we go on to defend our nation from all enemies foreign and domestic please protect and defend them against the same please give the leaders of our nation state and Military wisdom as they are faced with the difficult decisions that come with their office and appointment may your blessing guidance and favor be upon us and upon this day as Jesus name and pray amen ladies and Gentlemen please be seated the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade is currently comprised of first Battalion of the 142nd headquartered in Bentonville second Battalion of the 142nd headquartered in Fort Smith first Battalion of the 181st headquartered in Chattanooga Tennessee first Battalion of the 117th headquartered in Andalusia Alabama and second and 217th Brigade support Battalion headquartered in Lincoln the Brigade headquarters and Brigade signal support company of the 142nd Brigade are headquartered in Fayetteville Arkansas the 142nd continually trains for the next call to action from a nation and state who has always found the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade to be competent capable ready and willing to answer the call ladies and gentlemen at this time I would like to introduce the commander of the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade Colonel Ty Parker yes sir ladies and gentlemen distinguished guest citizen soldiers are the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade hey today is a great day as we dem as we gathered today to demonstrate our unwavering support to the soldiers of the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade you are embarking on a vital Mission supporting our Southwest border the brigade's motto is answers the call I am proud of your commitment and our organizational Readiness and meeting and fulfilling that call as you deploy to Texas you carry the values of Honor Duty and integrity that Define our communities this brigade this state and our nation's military working alongside border security agencies you will face unique challenges in maintaining border Integrity preventing illicit activities and supporting law enforcement I want to acknowledge the sacrifices involved in this mission to the soldiers leaving their families we recognize the hardships you'll endure and to the families friends and loved ones that are sitting here today we acknowledge your unwavering support your selflessness allows these soldiers to provide service to this nation to the state and uphold the values we hold dear first of the 142nd thank you for answering the call it's my pleasure now to introduce a distinguished career Army National Guard officer with over 27 years of dedicated service to the Arkansas Army National Guard he has held various leadership roles in the 39th infantry Brigade combat team and supported operations during our operation Iraqi freedom with extensive experience including as chief of staff for the Arkansas Army National Guard he was promoted to Brigadier General working at the National Guard Bureau most recently appointed as a 54th adjutant General of Arkansas in January 2023. ladies and gentlemen Major General Subs thank you all right team Madam Governor so great to have you here at Fort Chaffee we are very blessed with your presence to our community leaders here in attendance thank you so much for coming out and representing and supporting these great soldiers and their families it's a big deal to have you here to our families what an honor it is to have you sitting uh in attendance with us today being a part of our greater military family and of our greater State family it is just so important uh that you are here to witness this because without you without your love and your support and your dedication to your individual Soldier they would not be here and we would not be as nearly as successful as we are so thank you for your service and your support to your respective Soldier and to the soldiers in attendance Madam Governor had an opportunity yesterday during their evening child uh to come into the chow hall and uh shake their hands look each each soldier in the eye and I can tell you uh without doubt without question these soldiers are trained and ready to go and they're fired up they are fired up they are ready to go they are excited and uh they are going to do great things down there on the Southwest border they are going to represent our state uh incredibly well with distinction with professionalism with determination with grit and they are going to set the standard and I told them and I believe this ma'am with every fiber of my being that these soldiers once they get deployed once they start operations they will be the finest soldiers serving On the Border without question I believe in this group I am so incredibly proud of you and like we talked about last night we're going to remain professional all right we're going to do our job with the utmost professionalism commitment to one another we're going to take care of one another all right and then we're going to be prepared for anything we've got to be prepared for anything down there we're going to watch out for one another and be prepared to do what we need to do to support the butter the Border Customs and Border Protection agents that are down there to support our fellow Texas National Guardsmen who are carrying out their mission have been doing so for well over a year they've asked for our help and we're coming to help them all right and I'm incredibly proud of each and every one of you so without further ado now let me say one more thing to the families I need to say this and I told your soldiers this but I need to tell you and I need to make this public statement to you Colonel Todd Parker right here raise your hand Todd just one more time he is the Brigade Commander so the commitment I made to your soldiers is this if you have an issue a problem you need help why your soldier is deployed let us know and we will be there for you okay no matter what we will be there for you it is it is our ultimate obligation and commitment to you that we will take care of you no matter what so please let the unit chain of command know and like I said we will be there for you so like I said we got the commander-in-chief here to deliver remarks and it's just my distinct honor and privilege uh to introduce her uh she is committed to your success there is no bigger fan of the National Guard than your commander-in-chief so without further Ado uh Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders ma'am let's give her a round of applause you can always count on General stubs to be the hype man so if people were not excited before they certainly are now good morning thank you Major General Stubbs for hosting us today and for all that you are doing on behalf of our state and our country we are unbelievably proud to be represented by you and to have you at the helm leading our guard and to our Arkansas National Guardsmen and your families thank you for your service to Arkansas and to our entire nation over just the last few months since taking office I've already had the chance to see firsthand The Unbelievable dedication the unwavering support that our state and frankly our country and our world are receiving from our Arkansas Guardsmen just a few weeks ago we had the chance to see our Guardsmen step in and help after our state was devastated by tornadoes that ravaged Central and Eastern Arkansas and just last week while I was in Germany I had the opportunity to sit down with some of the members of our guard and see the unbelievable work that they are doing and the level of commitment that they have to serving and representing our state I knew it before I took office but I've been reminded every single day just how unbelievably incredible our guard is by far the best in the country not that I'm biased at all and in just a few short days you will be on the front lines of another of one of the most pressing issues facing our country and we need your help because we know that we need the very best to take on this mission because it won't be an easy one but I certainly would not have asked our Guardsmen to do this if it wasn't a mission focused on the safety and the security of our country you are Arkansas's very finest and we know that you will complete this Mission and we have total confidence in you as you deploy today in just a few days you will see the crisis at our Southern border firsthand all-time high illegal border crossings a flood of deadly drugs like fentanyl human traffickers operating with free reign I was recently at a border briefing in Texas about a month ago and in just a few weeks they had already apprehended more people in that month that were on our terrorist watch list than the previous six years combined some leaders in Washington think complacency equals compassion so they've thrown the door open to the cartels leaving states to pick up the pieces let's get one thing clear it is not compassionate to encourage people to put their lives in their children's lives in the hands of deadly cartels it is not compassionate to let 100 000 Americans die from drug overdoses every day and it is not compassionate to force cities and states to Bear the burden however states are doing exactly that and we're stepping up we are taking on the burden where our federal government is failing our federal border policies are not compassionate they are cruel and if our leaders in Washington won't step up States like Arkansas must this is a task that the Arkansas National Guard is uniquely qualified for you've provided the same assistance to commanders in law enforcement for years and now that help that training will be instrumental in combating this crisis to the leadership of the Guard thank you for your quick work to make this deployment possible and to the families here today thank you for being here to see your loved ones off to this mission and for the support that you give them each and every day and to our brave Guardsmen we cannot thank you enough for your service on behalf of arkansans and all Americans we know that you truly represent the very best of our state and our country and we are forever grateful for your service thank you for what you do God bless you and be safe [Applause] thank you Governor Sanders ladies and gentlemen sorry to do this but please stand for the benediction please join your hearts with mine once more in prayer Almighty father we come before you again on behalf of these soldiers as you protected the army of your nation Israel please protect ours in this unit specifically as they are given a mission away from home may they walk in wisdom and under your guidance May each one of them sees every opportunity they can for personal growth and development during this time may they look after one another not only on the front lines of their mission but in each other's personal lives as well as we Face the difficult days ahead help us to remember your faithfulness and the words you spoke through Isaiah for I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you do not fear I will help you your word also says you will keep those in perfect peace whose minds are stayed on you and that is my prayer for each one of these men women hearts and Minds be focused on you and may you grant your peace that to us that surpasses all understanding and may it guard our hearts and Minds just as your word proclaims that it will Heavenly Father want to pray for specifically for Colonel Barr and Sergeant Mater major Anderson please give these men direct guidance and wisdom please protect them and their soldiers and all their families may your hand and blessing be upon this mission maybe we remain in your peace protection and in your blessing and it's in Jesus name we pray amen please be seated as we bring this event to a close we wish to thank our families and friends for the support they provide to our soldiers to the soldiers thank you for your service in the Arkansas Army National Guard and thank you for your dedication to our country we wish you all the best of the upcoming mission families are encouraged to meet loved ones outside outside the theater prior to departure ladies and gentlemen this concludes the ceremony thank you for your attendance [Applause]

Channel: Forbes Breaking News

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Length: 17min 40sec (1060 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 29 2023