BISMARCK, N.D. — The remaining North Dakota National Guard Soldiers who were deployed to Kosovo returned home last night to Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot and Bismarck on commercial flights. These 40 Soldiers remained in Kosovo a few extra days in order to coordinate mission handoff and participate in the Transfer of Authority ceremony last Saturday, which formally presented command to the Puerto Rico Army National Guard.
With the exception of a few Soldiers who chose to extend their tour in Kosovo an additional year, all of the Kosovo Force 12 Soldiers have completed their mission and returned home.
Among the Soldiers that returned last night are Brig. Gen. Al Dohrmann, of Bismarck, N.D., and Command Sgt. Major Jack Cripe, Dickinson, N.D. Together they led Multi-National Battle Group East, which was comprised of forces from the U.S., Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Poland and Greece.
At the peak of the mission, about 650 North Dakota Soldiers served in the NATO peacekeeping mission, the largest single deployment of the North Dakota National Guard since the Korean War.