As the 278th National Guard unit based in Sweetwater prepares for deployment early next year, the community is mobilizing to support the troops and their family members at home.

The Monroe County Red Cross will be at the frontlines on the home front supporting the troops' families. The Red Cross is busy forming a group of supporters to help families when their loved ones leave.

"This group is open to anyone," Red Cross Executive Director Denny Westby said at a meeting held Monday evening at the Red Cross headquarters at Sweetwater City Hall.

Westby said the Red Cross wants to add to what many troop support groups are doing, including the Guard's Family Readiness Group (FRG), Old Sweetwater Baptist Church, which has adopted the unit, the American Legion and many others.

Westby said the local Red Cross has applied for a grant that could help support many of the chapter's efforts to support families.

If the money comes through, the Red Cross could help the troops' families in a larger number of ways. That could include purchasing several laptop computers with cameras that would allow families at home to see the soldiers as they communicate with them.

The money could also help provide scholarships to pay for scholarships  for Red Cross safety and health classes.

Westby said the Guard unit's ultimate deployment destination has not been officially announced, however the troops are expected to spend nine months to a year away from home next year with the troops already having spent a month this fall at Camp Shelby, Miss., preparing for their mission.

For more information on how you can help the Red Cross support the troops and their families, call the Red Cross at (423) 337-9011.

Soldiers in the local Guard unit spent most of 2005 serving in Iraq.

tommy.millsaps@advocateanddemocrat.com | 337-7101