About 4,200 Mississippi National Guard soldiers of the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, including a group from Meridian, will mobilize in support of Operation Spartan Shield next year.

The brigade’s mobilization is scheduled for spring of 2018, at Fort Bliss, Texas, with a follow-on deployment for approximately nine months, in the Central Command Theater based out of Kuwait, according to a press release.

“The 155th stands ready to deploy for any mission within Mississippi or abroad,” said Col. Doug Ferguson, 155th ABCT commander.

Operation Spartan Shield is a combined forces contingency operation designed to deter and react to possible threats within the Middle East region. The 155th ABCT is committed to ensuring it has the capability to win decisively in conflicts in the Middle East.

This will be the unit’s third deployment to the Middle East since 2001, and the first deployment using all of its assigned combat platforms. The “Dixie Thunder” brigade possesses expertise from deployments during Operations Iraqi Freedom III in 2004-2005 and OIF 9.2 in 2009-2010.

“The men and women of this brigade train year-round in preparation to defend this great Nation. We’ve proudly represented Mississippi in past deployments and will continue to do so now,” said Ferguson.

The 155th ABCT is headquartered in Tupelo and has battalion headquarters in the following locations:

1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment – McComb

2d Battalion, 198th Armor Regiment – Senatobia

2d Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment – Kansas City, KS

2d Battalion, 114th Field Artillery Regiment – Starkville

1st Squadron, 98th Cavalry Regiment – Amory

106th Support Battalion – Monticello

150th Engineer Battalion – Meridian

The 155th ABCT has participated in large-scale training exercises over the past three years in preparation for potential deployments, including an Exportable Combat Training Exercise at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in 2015, a Multi-echelon Integrated Brigade Training exercise at Fort Hood, Texas in 2016, and a National Training Center rotation at Fort Irwin, California, in 2017.