SALINA, Kansas - Soldiers and families of the Kansas National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery will be honored with a steak feed cookout on Friday, July 3, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The cookout is being sponsored by the All American Beef Battalion and will be held at the Salina Armory, 2910 Arnold Ave, Salina.

“We appreciate what the All American Beef Battalion is doing for our battalion and our families as we prepare to deploy,” said Lt. Col. John Rueger, commander of the 2-130th FA. “Knowing we have the support of organizations like this and from all Kansans will help us throughout our deployment.”

Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, Kansas adjutant general, will attend the All American Beef Battalion event along with Command Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mark Jensen and Command Sgt. Maj. Steve Rodina, to thank the organizers and the soldiers.

“Our Kansas Citizen-Soldiers have been deployed to all corners of the world,” Bunting said. “The 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery was the first Kansas National Guard battalion to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now they are the first battalion we are sending to the Sinai Peninsula for this mission.”

Approximately 425 soldiers of the 2-130th FA are conducting pre-mobilization training in Salina for a deployment as part of a Multinational Force and Observers mission in Egypt. The mission of the MFO is to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ their best efforts to prevent any violation of its terms.

A deployment ceremony for the 2-130th FA will be held on Sunday, July 19 at 10 a.m. at the Bicentennial Center, 800 The Midway, in Salina. After the ceremony, the 2-130th FA (headquartered in Hiawatha) along with members from its subordinate units (Abilene, Atchison, Burlington, Clay Center, Concordia, Hiawatha, Holton, Horton, Marysville, Ottawa, Sabetha, Salina and Troy) will go to their mobilization training center at Fort Lewis, Wash., and then deploy to Egypt.

Hometown deployment ceremonies will also be held on July 22. Details for those are:

9 a.m. Marysville National Guard Armory, 306 Veterans, Marysville

12 p.m. Holton High School, 901 New York Ave., Holton, Kan.

1 p.m. Concordia National Guard Armory, 2115 Blosser Drive, Concordia

The All American Beef Battalion is a group of individuals within the United States beef cattle industry dedicated to support the troops fighting the Global War on Terror. They work to organize and sponsor steak feeds, entertainment and programs with service members and their families.

“It is a real heart-warming thing for us to do,” said Bill Broadie of Ashland, Kan., founder of the All American Beef Battalion. “It’s been very well-received.”

The All American Beef Battalion began in August 2007. Organized exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes, the All American Beef Battalion strives to serve as a contact group for the United States Beef Industry. Creekstone Farms Premium Beef provides Black Angus beef to the battalion which operates on donations. For more information on the All American Beef Battalion, go to www.steaksfortroops.com.