The year 2012 will forever be remembered in the Missouri National Guard as a year where we made great strides both as soldiers and airmen serving around the world, and as leaders at home and abroad.
This year, our guardsmen deployed around the world including Afghanistan, Qatar and the Sinai Peninsula. I would especially like to single out the soldiers of the 548th and 1138th transportation companies who braved the world's most dangerous roads to deliver supplies to our troops in the field. Their bravery and sacrifice has ensured that as we prepare to finish combat operations in Afghanistan, that nation is prepared for its future.
In 2012, Missouri's Agribusiness Development Team concluded its mission. Since 2007, joint Army and Air National Guard teams have been helping Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province rebuild its agribusiness infrastructure. What began as an effort to show our allies a better way forward concluded with our allies showing us that they are ready to control their own destiny.