WATERLOO (Tribune News Service) — A lone bagpiper greeted visitors to the Waterloo Airport Army Aviation Support Facility on Friday morning, his solemn skirl matching the mood of those gathering at the site.

In support of a NATO peacekeeping operation, a portion of a battalion of Iowa National Guard soldiers is deploying to Kosovo for a nine-month tour.

Thirty-three members of Detachment 1, Company C (Medevac), 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, based in Waterloo, departed following a community send-off ceremony held at the support facility on Big Rock Road.

According to a news release, “Their primary mission will be to conduct live aerial medevac operations, refueling and maintenance support to U.S., coalition and Kosovo security forces. ... The peacekeeping mission ... is focused on local and regional stability within the country and Eastern Europe.

NATO has been leading a peacekeeping operation in Kosovo since June 1999.

Those being deployed, 30 men and three women, will spend a month completing pre-mobilization training at Fort Cavasos, an Army post near Killeen, Texas, before heading to Kosovo.

The last time the unit deployed was in 2017 to Afghanistan.

Eighteen-month-old Emery Graham sat on a folding chair munching fruit, oblivious to the fact that her father, Dwayne Graham, was preparing to leave. Her mom, Mariah Graham, tried to hold back tears as she kept her daughter occupied.

“My husband has been on two previous deployments, but this is the first one for me,” she said. It doesn’t feel great.”

Mariah said her husband has prepared her to the best of his ability.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations,” she said. “My family is my support system, and my job has been really great.”

Alongside military dignitaries, Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart addressed those in attendance.

“This is one of the most humbling opportunities of my life, as the son of an Army veteran who passed away almost exactly a year ago,” he said.

He thanked unit members for their service, dedication, bravery and sacrifice and quoted the Seventh Beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

“When you go, you are not alone,” Hart said, citing the support of those who have previously served, neighbors and family members.

The city of Cedar Falls was represented by Councilmember Gil Schultz.

Lindsey Fuller of Waverly was on hand to see the unit off. A member of the 186 MP Company, she and her unit will be deployed to Kosovo next week.

“I’m just here to support this unit today,” she said. “Our missions are different. They will be doing aviation, and we will be doing law enforcement.”

Fuller, 24, said she feels good about what will be her first deployment.

“This is what I signed up to do.”

Capt. Grant Grosskruger, commander for the medevac unit, said he was excited for the guard members and they felt “supported, loved and embraced by the community.”

“I am extremely proud of them,” he said. “They have put in a lot of a time and a lot of training. I’m excited for them for the opportunity to get better and to complete their mission.”

Grosskruger will stay behind with the remaining 36 members of the medevac unit.

“I wish I was going with them,” he said.

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