Arkansas Guardsmen Begin 13‑Month Title 10 Deployment

Nearly 120 Arkansas National Guard soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 114th Security and Support Aviation Regiment departed Oct. 5 for a 13-month Title 10 federal active-duty deployment to the U.S.–Mexico border in Texas to provide aerial support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection using four UH-72 Lakota helicopters. They will mobilize at Fort Hood and then disperse to assigned locations along the border, deploying alongside roughly 170 Guardsmen and more than a dozen additional Lakotas from units in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Louisiana as part of a routine rotation under U.S. Northern Command. The contingent includes pilots, crew chiefs, mechanics, flight operations personnel, fuelers and battalion staff, and officials expect the unit to return home in November 2026. Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges praised the Guardsmen’s dedication and professionalism, and families held an emotional send-off at Camp Robinson.