N.D. Guard soldiers returning to state today

Transportation was arranged this afternoon for a group of North Dakota National Guardsmen returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment arrived in Fort Hood, Texas, on Sunday and have been working through the demobilization process there. They will arrive in North Dakota later today, concluding their yearlong mobilization.

The soldiers deployed in three groups in November 2009, the North Dakota National Guard said. It was a first-of-its-kind mission for two of the groups — one group of about 25 in Afghanistan and one group of eight in Iraq — which operated the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel Radar for the first time in a combat zone. The third group of 39 Soldiers used the Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment, or RAID, system in Afghanistan. It was the fourth such mission for the 1-188th, and thus dubbed RAID IV. The RAID tower system incorporates sensor technology to protect forward operating bases, while the Sentinel can alert short-range air-defense weapons to sites of hostile targets.

Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general, Gov. Jack Dalrymple and senior North Dakota National Guard leadership are expected to greet soldiers during some of the numerous return times. Community members are invited to join with soldiers’ families and friends in welcoming them to North Dakota.

Soldiers will be flying in to Bismarck Airport at: 7:49 p.m., 11:10 p.m. and 11:59 p.m.

Soldiers will be flying in to Grand Forks Airport at: 11 p.m.

Soldiers will be flying to Hector International Airport, Fargo, at 4:10 p.m. and 11:05 p.m.

A soldier will be flying into Minot Airport at 10:17 p.m.

Tags: daily updates, nd national guard, news, guard, deployment