Monticello, MN (KROC-AM News) - Members of the Minnesota National Guard unit will soon be deployed to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay.

It will mark the first time a Minnesota Guard have unit has been assigned to the detention facility along the southeastern shoreline of Cuba.  A deployment ceremony will take place on Saturday for the 120 soldiers from the Monticello-based 257th Military Police Company.

A statement from the National Guard says they will be assigned to providing safe, humane, legal, and a transparent care and custody of the detainees still being held at Guantánamo Bay. Prior to their departure, members of the unit will undergo special training and receive additional training on site.

This is the third overseas deployment for the unit. The 257th Military Police Company was sent to Iraq in 2004 and Afghanistan in 2012.

 

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