Fort Snelling to host sendoff for medical support unit

The Army Reserve will host a ceremony Friday for 20 troops who will leave the state for a deployment in Afghanistan.

The soldiers belong to the Company A, 452nd Combat Support Hospital. The unit is made up of doctors, nurses and lab technicians, who will provide medical support to troops throughout Afghanistan, according to Maj. Edie Weidemann, a spokeswoman for the unit.

"Were equipped to run a hospital, and that's what their mission will be -- to work in a health care facility providing for soldiers and the civilians," Weidemann said.

The deployment ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, at Fort Snelling in St. Paul.

After the ceremony, Weidemann said the soldiers head to Milwaukee, where they will meet with others in the unit. Then they'll go to Fort Louis in Washington for a month of training before leaving the country.

The company is headquartered in Milwaukee.

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