Unit to deploy to protect US capital

Associated Press

FAIRFIELD

An Ohio National Guard unit will deploy to the nation’s capital to help protect against terrorism and other threats from the sky.

The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports that more than 200 people from around Ohio and surrounding areas will be on a new mission to guard Washington, D.C., air space. The mission will use aircraft, radar and ground-based air-defense systems and communication equipment to monitor the skies.

The 1st Battalion, 174th Air Defense Artillery Regiment has had operations in Iraq, Germany, Kuwait and elsewhere.

Ohio National Guard officials took part in a call-to-duty ceremony Saturday at a church in Fairfield in southwest Ohio. The unit’s yearlong commitment will start with training at Fort Bliss, Texas, before heading to the Washington area as part of Operation Noble Eagle.