Plant City residents showed their patriotism and support Feb. 23, as about 120 guardsmen of the Florida Army National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery left their Plant City headquarters for a nine-month deployment to Qatar, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Before crossing the ocean, the guardsmen will head to the mobilization site in Camp Shelby, Miss. After training for about 40 days, the battalion will depart for Qatar, a sovereign Arab state, located on the Arabian Peninsula off the border of Saudi Arabia.