HAMMOND, La. – Sgt. Ernest A. Poinson Jr., noncommissioned officer with the Louisiana National Guard’s 1021st Engineer Company, 205th Engineer Battalion, spends time with his mother, wife and newborn son after a deployment ceremony at Southeastern Louisiana University Center in Hammond, La., Aug. 16, 2013. The 1021st, based in Covington, La., will deploy more than 160 Soldiers to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to conduct vertical construction operations, to include building, concrete, and plumbing and electrical systems. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Tarell J. Bilbo, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office/Released)