05 January 2017 (04:34 UTC-07 Tango 06) 16 Dey 1395/06 Rabi ‘ath-Thani 1438/08 Ji Chou 4714

On 31 December 2016 a small ceremony was held in the city of Kent to welcome home the 179th Engineer Company, Washington National Guard.

On 30 March 2016, the 179th deployed to Iraq, several of their personnel are single parents.  On 06 May 2016, Lieutenant David Bauders was killed at the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq.  At the time the U.S. Department of Defense said Bauders’ death was being investigated as a ‘noncombat incident’.  So far no further details have been released to the public.

The 179th’s deployment to Iraq was its first combat deployment, however, the 179th is routinely deployed to the Kingdom of Thailand as part of the U.S. National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program.