Lt. Col. Warren Pauling (left) with the North Dakota National Guard's demobilization team welcomes home 1st. Sgt. Richard Marschner, Mandan, as he exits the plane at Camp Atterbury, Ind., on July 18. Marschner served as the 1st Sgt. with the North Dakota Army National Guard's 957th Liaison Monitoring Team with the KFOR 12 contingent. Marschner is at Camp Atterbury participating in the demobilization process before returning home to North Dakota. Photo by Staff Sgt. Billie Jo Lorius, N.D. National Guard Public Affairs

Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general, and other senior leaders, greeted nearly 400 North Dakota Soldiers who have spent the past year serving as part of the Kosovo Force 12 as they arrived at their respective demobilization stations at Camp Atterbury, Ind., and Fort Benning, Ga., July 18 to 20.

The first group of about 225 Guardsmen arrived in Ind. on July 18 with the second group of about 131 soldiers arriving this evening about 8:20 p.m. About 15 soldiers that were stationed in Pristina, Kosovo and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina arrived at Fort Benning that weekend. They are arrived home to North Dakota by the end of the week after participating in the demobilization process.

“It’s a great day in North Dakota when soldiers return home from a successful mission,” Sprynczynatyk said. “Let’s remember all of the other North Dakota soldiers and airmen still serving in countries all across the world. Their ongoing efforts in defense of our nation will always be greatly appreciated.”

About 40 North Dakota Soldiers will remain in Kosovo in order to effectively coordinate mission handover to the succeeding unit, the Puerto Rican National Guard, which will lead KFOR 13. A ceremony to formally assume mission responsibility from the North Dakota National Guard took place July 24 in Kosovo. These remaining soldiers are expected home by the end of the month.

About 160 Soldiers of the 231st Maneuver Task Force (231st Brigade Support Battalion), Valley City, N.D., and the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade returned home early last May. The soldiers were mobilized last August.

Functioning as part of the Multinational Battle Group East, the charter mission of KFOR is maintaining a safe and secure environment and providing freedom of movement for the people in Kosovo. MNBG E is comprised of nearly 2,200 soldiers, including Task Force Hellas and Task Force POL-UKR (Polish and Ukraine) and Turkey.

Brig. Gen. Al Dohrmann, of Bismarck, commanded MNBG E during the KFOR 12 rotation.

The KFOR 12 mission was the largest mobilization for the North Dakota National Guard since the Korean War. While many units have deployed simultaneously for separate Global War on Terrorism missions in recent years, the KFOR mobilization encompasses the largest single element to mobilize in more than five decades.