STATE GUARD TO DUTY IN IRAQ, KOSOVO

Bismarck Tribune
September 30, 2009

Seven hundred members of the North Dakota Army National Guard,
the largest deployment since the Korean War, left Camp Atterbury,
Ind., Sept. 28 for training in Germany, with a yearlong peacekeeping
mission in Kosovo ahead of them. Today, 47 members of Company C,
2-285th Aviation Battalion, based in Bismarck, prepare to leave for
a yearlong deployment to Iraq.

The Kosovo-bound North Dakota soldiers will be a part of a
multi-national NATO force — Task Force Falcon. They will be joined
by about 700 soldiers from National Guard and reserve units from 10
states, as well as 800 soldiers from Poland, Greece, Ukraine, Romania,
Armenia, Lithuania and Bulgaria at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo.

Company C, divided between the North Dakota National Guard and the
Utah National Guard, will first head for training at Fort Sill, Okla.,
before taking up its assignment in Iraq, as a part of Operation Iraqi
Freedom. Soldiers from each state will mobilize with five UH-60 Black
Hawk helicopters.

These soldiers — men and women — have our utmost respect. We must
appreciate the sacrifice that they are making. Yearlong deployments,
whether in Kosovo or Iraq, challenge commitment to duty. There’s
risk. Perhaps more in Iraq than Kosovo, but no matter, there’s still
risk. There’s absence from family, friends and work. But the North
Dakotans in uniform are meeting the challenge and will persevere.

The families of the men and women headed for Kosovo and Iraq have our
care and support. We know that the Guard and its families are good
at taking care of their own, but the community of support for our
soldiers on active duty stretches beyond those close ties. Support
includes the Guard families’ many, many friends, neighbors and fellow
citizens, known and unknown.

Know this. While it’s natural to think of the impact of these
deployments on North Dakotans, the work that these soldiers do in
the Balkans and western Asia will h t on the people that live there,
and the global network of nations. Whether engaged in peacekeeping
activities in Kosovo, or supporting ground troops in Iraq in the war
on terror, these soldiers support the cause of peace.

The public event for Company C, 2-285th Air Assault Aviation Battalion
will be at 7 p.m. at the Bismarck Army Aviation Support Facility
complex, 3406 Airway Ave., Bismarck.

To the soldiers, we pray for safe passage. For their families, we
pray for hope and the return of their loved ones.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress