Ill. National Guard unit readies for Egypt stay

NORTH RIVERSIDE — Forty-five Illinois Army National soldiers are preparing to deploy to Egypt this fall as part of an international peacekeeping force in the Sinai Peninsula.

The National Guard says in a statement that the 708th Medical Company will train for a short time at Camp Atterbury in Indiana before heading to Egypt this fall. The company will provide medical care for the 1,600 troops based in the Sinai as part of the Multinational Force and Observers. The multinational force oversees the terms of the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

The National Guard says the medical company is expected to return home in the summer of 2013.

A deployment ceremony is planned for Friday at the National Guard Armory in North Riverside in the Chicago suburbs.