FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota National Guard's leadership team of Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general, and Command Sgt. Maj. Harley Schwind, state command sergeant major for the North Dakota Army National Guard are conducting a command visit of North Dakota troops serving on deployments overseas.
Sprynczynatyk and Schwind have visited approximately 160 soldiers from the Wahpeton and Oakes-based 188th Engineer Company (Vertical) serving in Kuwait and about 50 members of the North Dakota Air National Guard's 119th Civil Engineer Squadron currently serving in Southwest Asia.
Sprynczynatyk and Schwind are currently visiting soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 112th Aviation Security and Support Regiment, who have been serving in Kosovo since September. About 55 soldiers are mobilized for a yearlong deployment and are providing aviation command support for other units participating in NATO peacekeeping operations as part of Kosovo Force 15.
There will be limited media availability during their visit in Kosovo.
Sprynczynatyk will call directly to media. If interested in an interview, contact Capt. Dan Murphy with preferred time, name and direct phone number.
Call times will be selected on first come, first served basis. We will attempt to accommodate all requests.
Availability times:
* Wednesday, March 28
* 9:30-10:30 a.m. CDT and 2:30-3:30 p.m. CDT
* (Note: Kosovo local time is 7 hours ahead)
* Contact Capt. Dan Murphy, 701-333-2007/426-0190 (Cell)
While nearly 300 North Dakota Guard Members are serving overseas, other units have been alerted in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and include the Bismarck-based 1919th Contingency Contracting Team, which is expected to depart by the end of 2012; the Bismarck-based Detachment 42, Operational Airlift Support, which is expected to deploy in early 2013; and the Williston and Hazen-based 818th Engineer Company (Sapper), which is expected to depart in April. A send-off ceremony for the 818th Engineers is scheduled for April 29, in Bismarck.
Current North Dakota Guard Overseas Missions
KUWAIT
Wahpeton, N.D., based 188th Engineer Company (Vertical), with 160 soldiers, departed last August for Kuwait on a 12-month deployment. It is the first mobilization for the 188th Engineers, although their legacy unit in Wahpeton
- Company B, 142nd Engineer Combat Battalion - deployed to Iraq in 2003 and to Kosovo in 2000.
As a vertical engineer unit, the 188th is comprised of soldiers trained as electricians, carpentry and masonry specialists, plumbers and horizontal construction engineers. They also have Soldiers skilled in supply, administrative and maintenance areas.
The Guardsmen hail from nearly 70 cities across North Dakota and into Minnesota. They are commanded by Capt. Lucas Klettke, of Perham, Minn., and 1st Sgt. Eric Binstock, of Argusville, N.D., is the senior enlisted leader.
As of February, the unit completed more than 38,000 engineer hours of work, accumulated more 980 equipment hours. They received more than 14,000 care packets during the holiday season.
SOUTHWEST ASIA
About 50 members of the North Dakota Air National Guard's 119th Civil Engineer Squadron have been providing construction support and electrician expertise in southwest Asia since December on their six-month deployment.
"The (electrical workers) are working 12-hour days, six days a week. The power plant operates 24/7/365," said Master Sgt. David Wosick, the electrical power production superintendent.
KOSOVO
The North Dakota Army National Guard also has a unit serving in Kosovo. The 1st Battalion, 112th Aviation Security and Support Regiment mobilized for a yearlong deployment in September. About 55 soldiers with the unit are providing aviation command support for other units participating in NATO peacekeeping operations as part of Kosovo Force 15.
North Dakota Guard's Col. Gordy Leingang served in Kosovo from December 2011 to March 2012. The Bismarck-area doctor serves as a flight surgeon and is credited with four overseas deployments.
The North Dakota National Guard's largest unit deployment in decades was to Kosovo in 2009-10. More than a dozen Guardsmen extended to continue to serve there. One North Dakota Guard soldier is still serving in Kosovo, Capt. Shane Clennon, of West Fargo, N.D.
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Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 3,800 soldiers and more than 1,800 airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Currently, nearly 300 North Dakota Guardsmen are serving overseas while more than 4,000 remain in the state for emergency response and national defense. For every 10,000 citizens in North Dakota, 65 serve in the North Dakota National Guard, a rate that's more than four times the national average.
| Date Taken: |
03.28.2012 |
| Date Posted: |
03.28.2012 08:23 |
| Story ID: |
85887 |
| Location: |
FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: |
132 |
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0 |
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