Terre Haute police chief among soldiers heading to Cuba

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — About 60 Indiana National Guardsmen got their official sendoff before going to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The 38th Infantry Division will spend nine months in Guantanamo Bay, overseeing the naval base’s high-profile military prison that houses accused terrorists.

One of the members of the 38th Infantry Division is Sergeant Major John Plasse. He’s leaving his day job as police chief in Terre Haute for his third deployment with the National Guard. The last two were to Afghanistan.

“My last deployment, my assistant chief took over while I was gone,” said Plasse. “I talked to the mayor, made the plan to make sure everything was covered there when I was gone. This one kind of happened soon, recently, just last month, so our planning has been kind of abbreviated.”

In a few days, the group will be sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, for some final training before being sent to Guantanamo Bay after Christmas.