By Bill Roberts – Special to the Pahrump Valley Times

Nye County Sheriff’s Deputy Elbie Doege received a surprise community send-off July 29 in Tonopah, as his final days in the community were winding down before his deployment to Afghanistan.

Doege said he was finalizing details that morning when “a couple of coworkers dropped by to give me a little ride through town.”

With sirens blasting and lights flashing, they gave their fellow deputy a farewell tour of Main St. before stopping near the post office, where several dozen people gathered to wish him a speedy trip and a safe return.

“It took me completely by surprise and was a very nice gesture,” Doege said.

He left Tonopah later that day for Reno, where some other family matters required attention and he was to leave this week for Ft. Bliss, Texas, for pre-deployment training.

Eventually, he will be stationed near Kabul, Afghanistan.

His training as a sheriff’s deputy will dovetail into his military assignment.

He is a member of the 485 Military Police of the Nevada Army National Guard. Its “unit mission” is to “Provide guards for enemy prisoners of war and civilian internees, or provide guards for U. S. military prisoners, installations and facilities.

“485th is employed in a direct role to execute all five military police functions — maneuver and mobility support, area security, internment and resettlement, law and order and police intelligence operations.

“The unit maintains a deployment ready posture capable of responding to any contingency or rotational mission worldwide. Our order, provide a reactionary force for specified state emergencies.”

Doege’s position with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office will be waiting for him upon his return from Afghanistan.

His wife, Missy, said, “I hope he spends a lot of time playing cards and then comes home safely.”