MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release August 10, 2009
Contacts:
Rick Smith at 701-333-2007 (office) or 701-426-0190 (cell)
Amy Willson at 701-451-6130 (office) or 701-412-6895 (cell)
Event Planned for More North Dakota Guard Units Leaving for Kosovo
FARGO, N.D. — A send-off event will wish North Dakota Army National Guard Soldiers well as they prepare to leave for a yearlong mobilization to Kosovo. About 300 Soldiers, who serve with the 231st Maneuver Task Force, will be honored at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14, at the Fargo Civic Center. One send-off took place previously in Bismarck to recognize the other North Dakota units taking part in the mission. Units in the 231st MTF hail from Valley City and Fargo.
About 700 North Dakota National Guard Soldiers will begin leaving this weekend to take part in Kosovo Force 12, or KFOR12 — the 12th rotation of U.S. forces there. North Dakota will lead a multinational force of about 2,200 troops that's comprised of service members from 11 other states and about 35 countries. It's the single-largest mobilization since the Korean conflict for the North Dakota Soldiers. 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. The mobilization is scheduled to last 12 months.
Kosovo is divided into five NATO areas of responsibility. The United States is responsible for the Multi-National Task Force East (MNTF-E) region, also known as Task Force Falcon, which serves as the American-led component of NATO's Kosovo Force.
Gov. John Hoeven, Sen. Kent Conrad, Sen. Byron Dorgan, Rep. Earl Pomeroy and Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota National Guard's adjutant general, will address the Soldiers and their families during Friday's event. All of Task Force Falcon will be commanded by North Dakota's Brig. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, of Bismarck, N.D., and led by senior enlisted Soldier, Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Cripe, of Dickinson, N.D., both of whom also will address Soldiers and their families during the send-off.
On Saturday, the first two groups of Soldiers will depart from Fargo for Camp Atterbury, Ind., and then on to Germany for follow-on training before leaving for Kosovo.
Two more groups will leave from Bismarck for Camp Atterbury Aug. 17 and 21 for the same training. Additionally, a small group of Soldiers will depart for Pristina, the capital and largest city of Kosovo, and Sarajevo, the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in October to work with KFOR Headquarters NATO forces.
The public is welcome to join the Soldiers' Families and friends at Friday's send-off ceremony.
WHO: Soldiers of the 231st Maneuver Task Force and their supporters
WHAT: KFOR12 Send-off Ceremony
WHEN: 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14, 2009
WHERE: Fargo Civic Center, 207 4th St. N., Fargo
**MEDIA: If you would like individual interviews with deploying Soldiers, we recommend you arrive around 9:30 a.m.
The following is a TENTATIVE schedule of when Soldiers will be departing local armories to fly to Indiana and begin the mobilization. The public is encouraged to line the routes from the armories to the airports.
Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009: About 120 Soldiers from the 231st Maneuver Task Force will depart the Fargo Armed Forces Reserve Center at 3:45 p.m. and about 160 more from the unit will depart at 5 p.m.
Fargo Route: From the Reserve Center, 3920 31st St. N.W., the bus will turn west onto County Road 20 and travel to old Highway 81, and then follow it south to Dakota Drive and north to Hector International Airport.
Monday, Aug. 17, 2009: About 85 Soldiers from the 957th Liaison Monitoring Team will depart Raymond J. Bohn Armory, Bismarck, at 9:45 a.m.
Friday, Aug. 21, 2009: About 180 Soldiers from the Task Force Falcon Headquarters element will depart Raymond J. Bohn Armory at 7:15 a.m.
Bismarck Route: From Raymond J. Bohn Armory, 4200 East Divide Ave. in Bismarck, the bus will travel west and turn south at the stoplight on Bismarck Expressway. The Soldiers will then travel south to Airport Road, and then southeast to Bismarck Municipal Airport.
Since the terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 2,800 Soldiers and more than 1,600 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. In recent months, nearly 2,000 North Dakota National Guardsmen were mobilized for flood fighting missions all across North Dakota. With a total force of about 4,400 Soldiers and Airmen, we have sufficient forces available to provide emergency response and homeland defense.
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For more information:
Kosovo Forces 12 PowerPoint Briefing
www.ndguard.com/uploads/resources/1014/kfor-bg-dohrmann-brief.pdf
N.D. National Guard News Release 09-137 (7/12/2009)
Send-off Ceremony Held in Bismarck for Soldiers Heading to Kosovo
www.ndguard.com/news/detail.asp?newsID=409
Photos, Videos & Other Updates:
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- Facebook page: North Dakota National Guard
Amy Wieser Willson
Deputy Public Information Officer
Joint Force Headquarters
North Dakota National Guard
Office: (701) 451-6130
Cellular: (701) 412-6895
Fax: (701) 451-6017
DSN: 373-6130
amy.wieserwillson@us.army.mil
http://www.ndguard.com/
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