Photos top to bottom: Aviators (l-r) Warrant Officer 1 Kris Sofchak, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Tim Lelie, Sgt. Ken Avvy and Sgt Bill Harpe carry Spc. Jessica Brooks during simulated medical evacuation training. Sgt. Jose Miranda (l) and 1st Lt. Bethanie Schultz (r) come under simulated fire while training at the military operations on urban terrain site. Governor Jon S. Corzine shakes hands with 1st Lt. Tiffaney Mohammed after the Departure Ceremony. Governor Jon S. Corzine addresses the Soldiers of the 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion. All photos by Tech. Sgt. Mark Olsen, 177FW/PA.

By Wayne Woolley, NJDMAVA/PA

Gov. Jon S. Corzine and Maj. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth led a delegation of elected officials, civic leaders and employers to Fort Sill, Okla. on April 9 for the departure ceremony for the Iraq-bound Soldiers of the 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion.

“While you are focused on your mission and unit, know that this administration is

deeply committed to caring for your families and also with working with your employers to make sure that your jobs will still be there upon your return home," Corzine told the Soldiers after the formal ceremony ended.

The New Jersey Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Pentagon-sponsored organization that protects the employment rights of military reservists, organized the one-day trip that also included a barbeque with the troops. The state ESGR committee has organized more than a half dozen trips over the past year that allowed more than 400 employers, elected officials and civic leaders to travel to locations around the country to observe the troops of the New Jersey National Guard in action.