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Ceremony for N.D. Guard held in Grand Forks

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Political leaders, friends and family gathered here Friday to send off a North Dakota Army National Guard unit headed to Iraq, while the Air National Guard said six soldiers overseas were preparing to return home.

Twenty-one members of the Grand Forks-based 132nd Quartermaster Company, which has detachments in Cando, Bottineau and Rugby, will be working on water purification in Iraq.

The solders are leaving Monday for training at Fort Hood, Texas, and will be on active duty for at least a year. The unit served during the first Gulf War and also during the 1997 Red River flood.

Gov. John Hoeven said the 21 soldiers volunteered for the latest mission. He said efforts would be made to take care of their families back home.

“The welcome homes are a lot more fun,” Hoeven said.

Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., said that despite ongoing debate about whether U.S. troops in Iraq should leave, support for North Dakota Guardsmen is as strong as ever.

The North Dakota Army National Guard currently has about 300 soldiers on alert or mobilized for service in Iraq and Afghanistan, in support of the war on terror.

Meanwhile, the North Dakota Air National Guard on Tuesday will welcome home six airmen returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are to fly into the Fargo airport.

The members of the 119th Civil Engineer Squadron deployed last October. Five went to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. They handled a variety of duties, from doing electrical work and operating equipment to constructing buildings and roads, the Guard said.

In Wild Rice just south of Fargo, Guard officials on Friday honored retiring Monsignor Brian Donahue for his service as a Guard chaplain. Donahue is retiring after 20 years of service.

The ceremony was held at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church. The Guard commander, Maj. Gen. Dave Sprynczynatyk, and Fargo Roman Catholic Bishop Samuel Aquila were among those on hand.