Friends, family and colleagues gathered together April 16, 2023, at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, for a send-off ceremony for 131 Nebraska National Guard Soldiers of Alpha Company, 2-134th Infantry Battalion (Airborne). Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Nebraska National Guard leaders thanked the Soldiers and their families and remarked on the unique mission they will have during the unit's first deployment. The company will be deployed to the Horn of Africa for close to a year. (U.S. Army National Guard photos by Sgt. Gauret Stearns)