{"id":10739,"date":"2025-08-03T19:59:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T19:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=10739"},"modified":"2025-08-03T21:20:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T21:20:28","slug":"maryland-guard-welcomes-home-aviation-sustainment-soldiers-from-kuwait-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2025\/08\/03\/maryland-guard-welcomes-home-aviation-sustainment-soldiers-from-kuwait-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Guard Welcomes Home Aviation Sustainment Soldiers from Kuwait Deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Capt. Dylan Bradford<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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EDGEWOOD, Md. \u2014 The Maryland Army National Guard held a welcome home ceremony to honor the return of soldiers from the 1100th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group, following their nine-month deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Spartan Shield at Aberdeen Proving Ground – South, August 3, 2025.

The ceremony, held at the Edgewood Conference Center, recognized more than 20 Guardsmen who deployed as Task Force 31, providing critical aviation sustainment and maintenance support across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

\u201cThis task force didn\u2019t just support the mission, they transformed it,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Andrew Collins, commander of the Maryland Army National Guard, during keynote remarks. \u201cThe 1100th TASMG revolutionized how we conduct aviation engine repairs in theater, stood up a new engine repair shop months ahead of schedule, and made a lasting impact on Army readiness. That\u2019s what we mean when we say: leaders up front.\u201d

During the deployment, Task Force 31 played a key role in establishing the CENTCOM theater\u2019s first expeditionary engine repair shop, which was capable of servicing key Army helicopter engines and improving turnaround time for operational units. The shop, that opened in October 2024, is expected to save significant resources and improve aircraft readiness for future rotations.

\u201cThis team wasn\u2019t just an advisory unit, we delivered tangible results that enhanced readiness, saved millions of dollars, and brought real capability back to the warfighter,\u201d said Maj. Dante Gizzi, who served as acting commander during the ceremony. \u201cBy the time we left theater, the Engine Repair Shop had already turned over six engines, accounting for over $5 million in savings. That\u2019s the kind of impact this team made\u2014measurable, strategic, and mission-critical.\u201d

Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Hash, the unit\u2019s senior enlisted leader, closed the ceremony with a message focused on the importance of recovery and reintegration.
\u201cYou\u2019ve done your time overseas. Now it\u2019s time to heal, reset, and prepare for the next challenge,\u201d said Hash. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to have you back safe, and together again.\u201d

The 1100th TASMG is headquartered at Edgewood, Maryland, and is one of five TASMGs in the Army National Guard responsible for aviation maintenance and support for U.S. and allied aircraft. The unit rotates regularly through overseas missions to provide sustainment and technical oversight.

Sunday\u2019s ceremony marked the official end of the unit\u2019s deployment, as Soldiers transition back to their families, civilian careers, and continued service in the National Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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By Capt. Dylan Bradford EDGEWOOD, Md. \u2014 The Maryland Army National Guard held a welcome home ceremony to honor the return of soldiers from the 1100th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group, following their nine-month deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Spartan Shield at Aberdeen Proving Ground – South, August 3, 2025. The ceremony, held  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":10742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10739"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10745,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10739\/revisions\/10745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}