Bragg unit begins deployment Sunday

   FORT BRAGG About 200 Fort Bragg soldiers are scheduled to leave for Afghanistan Sunday, officials said.
   The soldiers will be the first wave of troops to deploy from the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
   Family and friends will see the soldiers off during an event Sunday evening.
   An estimated 450 troops from the battalion will eventually deploy this month, officials with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division have said. The battalion will provide base and convoy security for U.S. and NATO forces.
   Last month, about 450 paratroopers from another 4th Brigade Combat Team unit deployed to Afghanistan. The soldiers, part of the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, are helping to train Afghan security forces, officials said.
   The deployments are the last 4th Brigade before it is disbanded later this year as part of an Army reorganization. Then, most of its battalions will be placed under other 82nd Airborne Division units.

[The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, 15 Jan 2014, Wed. Page B2]