Jeffry and Suzanne Zimmerman are announcing the deployment to Afghanistan of their son, Benjamin Alex Morris, a sapper combat engineer with the Indiana National Guard’s 713th Engineer Company.

Ben, 26—who excelled in marksmanship during his preparation for deployment—will have one of the company’s more hazardous assignments, his mother told the Chesterton Tribune today: driving the Buffalo, a vehicle used to clear marching routes of mines and improvised explosive devices in advance of troop movements.

Ben will be missing his wife, Kaci, and his 2-year-old son, Reilleigh, while on deployment, and the family is asking the community to remember him in their prayers.

Ben’s grandparents are Jerry (Marge) Troke of Chesterton and Joe (Maryann) Leath of Portage; great-grandmother, Monita William of Chesterton; sister, Jamie (Ray) Ramirez of Valparaiso; and aunts, Chris Reno, Cathy (Jack) Leath, and Rayann Rockhill of Chesterton, Wendy Olm of Valparaiso, and Rose Marie Rockhill of Portage.

The 713th Engineer Company—nicknamed Sapper and comprised of approximately 100 soldiers—will be conducting patrols while in Afghanistan to assess road conditions and provide repairs while necessary.

On the eve of the unit’s deployment, its commanding officer, Capt. Cecil Pendleton III, said, “This is going to be a good but tough year. The men of the 713 Sapper Company have trained exceptionally hard and kept their nose to the grindstone every day and month.”

To his soldier’s families, Pendleton added, “You enabled these men to focus on their training and the mission ahead of us. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement.”