More than 100 Vermont National Guard soldiers will deploy this week. On Wednesday, March 10, the soldiers, primarily from the 572nd Brigade Engineer Battalion and the 1st Squadron, 172nd Infantry (Mountain) will depart for multiple mission locations. All of the destinations will be within the U.S. Africa command. In July 2020, the Guard made deployment announcements and said this group would have an expected one year deployment as part of Operation Spartan Shield. This is one of several deployments planned in 2021. "These soldiers have been preparing for over a year as part of about 950 Vermont Army National Guard Soldiers deploying across U.S. European, U.S. African and U.S. Central Commands throughout the first half of 2021," a news release from the Guard reads.