Farewell ceremony

Ft. Stewart GA- Indiana came out to say goodbye to its citizen soldiers this past Saturday.

Over 5,000 Hoosiers filled the Fort Stewart stands on a sunny Georgia morning to honor the 76th Indiana Brigade Combat Team now ready to deploy to Iraq.

Sergeant First Class Rudy Hernandez, 35, of Fort Wayne who served during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, said the ceremony showed great support from the thousands of family members in attendance.

“I’ve never seen a live band, an actual singer of the anthem, cannons fired (at a ceremony). It was really well planned,” Hernandez said, adding that his soldiers may have complained about standing for so long, “but it will be a good experience for the young soldiers to look back on.”

Indiana has the fourth largest National Guard in the nation and has the largest number of soldiers currently mobilized in the nation- 4,257 according to Indiana National Guard statistics.


The feeling of pride mixed with sadness. Families clustered in groups around an adjacent picnic field after the ceremony. Many soldiers quickly returned to their barracks to pack for a brief visit back to the Indiana.

SFC Hernandez will return to Fort Wayne for several days to see his family before he deploys.

About 20-30 members of the Hernandez family are gathering at his house for what he suspects will be a welcome home party. They already asked him what he wants to eat.

“I told them I wanted tamales, refried beans and rice,” Hernandez said.