Female Commander Readies for Deployment

A Zanesville resident readies for her deployment to Afghanistan.

In a few weeks Army National Guard Captain Angela Bailey will leave her children and husband at home and begin a tour of duty in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

"As a solider you want to go. This is what we train for, it’s our super bowl if you will from all the mini football games that we’ve done, for all the years of service we put in, " explained Captain Bailey the commander of the 1484th Transportation Company out of North Canton.

Most companies get at least 18 months notice of deployment, however Captain Bailey’s underwent what is known as no notice, meaning they had only three months to prepare. In Afghanistan this female commander will lead over 200 soldiers in transporting supplies. Only 175 of those come from her company.

"It’s no different than a male being commander because I’m a soldiers and I’ve done the right things as a solider," said Captain Bailey. "I’ve gone to all the schools that I’ve needed to and excelled. My soldiers see me as solid as a male would in that capacity."

This is Captain Bailey’s first overseas deployment. She said she knows they’ll have limited access to the internet and said as soldiers they look forward to letters from home. She said her and her family plan on taking a vacation when she returns.