Connect with us

Pennsylvania

Over 140 Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers deploying to Middle East

Published

on

Over 140 Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers deploying to Middle East


HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – More than 140 Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers are deploying to the Middle East.

Soldiers with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 3622nd Sustainment Maintenance Company participated in a deployment ceremony on Saturday morning in Harrisburg.

“We ship out tomorrow,” said U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant, Luke McCoy. 

Those deploying will serve in the Middle East for one year supporting U.S. Central Command and partner forces with regional security objectives.

Advertisement

“We’re a maintenance company, so we’re going to be doing a lot of maintenance and a lot of electronic work, recovery operations, relations with other, with other allied nations and stuff,” McCoy explained. “So, there’s just a lot of maintenance, a lot of good stuff over there.”

Preparing for a mission like this, isn’t easy — to say the least.

“Between getting all the equipment ready that we’re sending over there and getting everyone medically and admin cleared, it’s been a work horse for us to get ready for this thing and the guys work their butts off and I can’t be more grateful now to be going over with these guys,” he added.

The hardest part about deployment for many soldiers though is getting ready to leave family, friends and loved ones.

“I’ve been in for nine years, so it’s my first one [deployment],” said Ashlee Ebling, U.S. Army Specialist. “I’m really excited to do something great, something to do a little hard with the family, leaving the daughter behind and my husband.”

Advertisement

There is one thing many of these soldiers will be taking advantage of while being so far away from home — technology.

“We can facetime, we can WhatsApp signal through those apps and stuff,” McCoy said. “There’s wi-fi over there so we’ll be able to talk just as like if you’re 20 feet over that way and I was facetiming you, we can do that from across the world. So, we’re lucky in that sense to our technology is going to be very great for us.”

The soldiers will fly from the Harrisburg International Airport Sunday and into Texas before they officially head overseas for their mission.

Last year Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers deployed around the world including nearly 700 to Africa, over 150 to Germany, and nearly 50 to the Middle East. In October hundreds of soldiers returned from deployments to Africa.

Founded in 1747 by Benjamin Franklin, the Pennsylvania National Guard is now one of the largest state National Guards in the United States. Since September 11, 2001, Pennsylvania National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have completed more than 43,000 individual deployments.

Advertisement



Source link

Pennsylvania

Parents charged after toddler injured by wolf at Pennsylvania zoo

Published

on

Parents charged after toddler injured by wolf at Pennsylvania zoo




Parents charged after toddler injured by wolf at Pennsylvania zoo – CBS News

Advertisement













Advertisement




























Advertisement

Watch CBS News


The parents of a 17-month-old child are facing endangerment charges after the toddler stuck his hand under the fence of a wolf enclosure at a Pennsylvania zoo. Tom Hanson reports.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

2 Pennsylvania firefighters killed in vehicle collision during a search for a missing woman

Published

on

2 Pennsylvania firefighters killed in vehicle collision during a search for a missing woman


RICHMOND TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Two firefighters traveling in a utility vehicle along a Pennsylvania road during a search for a missing woman were killed in a head-on crash with a car, officials said.

The two members of the Walnuttown Fire Company died after the crash with a Toyota Camry at about 6 p.m. Saturday, roughly 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia. Fire Chief Jeff Buck and Assistant Fire Chief Robert Shick Jr. were heading north when they were struck by a sedan heading south on Route 222, according to the Berks County Coroner.

NBC Philadelphia reported that the utility vehicle was riding on the shoulder of Route 222 when the Camry swerved off of the road. Police told the station that a male and a female who were in the Camry when it crashed fled and were later arrested.

Video from the crash scene shows the utility vehicle on its side.

Advertisement

No further details about the arrest or the search for the missing woman were immediately available Sunday.

A call and an email seeking information were made to the Fleetwood Police Department.

Autopsies on the firefighters, both residents of Fleetwood, were scheduled for Monday.

“At this time we would like to send our thoughts and prayers” to the Shick and Buck families, the Walnuttown Fire Company said in a Facebook post. “Rest easy chiefs, we got it from here.”

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

Toddler injured by wolf after crawling under Pennsylvania zoo’s exterior metal fence

Published

on

Toddler injured by wolf after crawling under Pennsylvania zoo’s exterior metal fence


A toddler was lightly injured by a wolf at a Pennsylvania theme park zoo after he crawled under a fence and stuck his hand into the animal’s enclosure, officials at the zoo confirmed Sunday.The child was never inside the wolf habitat at the ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park, which is part of the Hersheypark theme park, and the officials characterized the injuries as minor without elaborating.After the “unsupervised” child reached the metal enclosure around the wolf habitat on Saturday morning and put his hand through, a wolf approached “and made contact with the child’s hand,” according to a statement from the zoo.”This type of response is consistent with natural animal behavior, and was not a sign of aggression,” the zoo said in a statement. “Our habitats are designed with multiple layers of protection, and clear signage and barriers are in place to help ensure safe viewing. Guests are expected to remain within designated areas and closely supervise children at all times.”The zoo is part of the entertainment complex in Hershey, Pennsylvania, featuring a chocolate-themed amusement park. The zoo’s website says it has three gray wolves.Hersheypark made headlines last summer when a lost boy wandering a monorail line above a crowd was rescued by a park visitor who climbed onto a building and jumped onto the rails. The child was unharmed and reunited with his family.

A toddler was lightly injured by a wolf at a Pennsylvania theme park zoo after he crawled under a fence and stuck his hand into the animal’s enclosure, officials at the zoo confirmed Sunday.

The child was never inside the wolf habitat at the ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park, which is part of the Hersheypark theme park, and the officials characterized the injuries as minor without elaborating.

Advertisement

After the “unsupervised” child reached the metal enclosure around the wolf habitat on Saturday morning and put his hand through, a wolf approached “and made contact with the child’s hand,” according to a statement from the zoo.

“This type of response is consistent with natural animal behavior, and was not a sign of aggression,” the zoo said in a statement. “Our habitats are designed with multiple layers of protection, and clear signage and barriers are in place to help ensure safe viewing. Guests are expected to remain within designated areas and closely supervise children at all times.”

The zoo is part of the entertainment complex in Hershey, Pennsylvania, featuring a chocolate-themed amusement park. The zoo’s website says it has three gray wolves.

Advertisement

Hersheypark made headlines last summer when a lost boy wandering a monorail line above a crowd was rescued by a park visitor who climbed onto a building and jumped onto the rails. The child was unharmed and reunited with his family.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending