More than 100 members of the 934th Airlift Wing left the Twin Cities for deployment in the Middle East, with family, friends, military leaders and top politicians there to send them off.
Three members of Congress from Minnesota, Sen. Al Franken and Reps. Tom Emmer and Betty McCollum, were among those in attendance Sunday in a hangar for the ceremony at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station.
After the speeches, hugs and tears, four C-130s lifted off with members known as the Global Vikings heading for their four-month assignment in Qatar.
Their mission includes moving various cargo and making airdrops in the Persian Gulf region.
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