SELAH -- The 181st Brigade Support Battalion's Dave Ammann hugs fellow guard member Cameron Welniak during a troop send off for the Washington National Guard at Wixson Park in Selah on Tuesday.

Ammann will serve his third depoloyment overseas with 2,500 other members of his brigade, who are wrapping up their training before deploying to Iraq this fall.

The battalion, based at the Yakima Training Center, is part of the 181st Brigade, a 2,500-member National Guard combat team that has spent the past month practicing combat skills at the training center. More than half of these soldiers have already served at least one tour in Iraq.

The 81st was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004 and 2005. The brigade is scheduled to begin replacing an Indiana Guard unit this fall, conducting convoy and base security at unspecified locations across Iraq.

Before that, though, the brigade’s training continues at Fort McCoy, Wis., on Monday marked the beginning of their 12-month active military duty.

-- Yakima Herald-Republic staff