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Gov. Rounds announces the 235th Military Police to return home from Fort Carson
RAPID CITY - Soldiers from the 235th Military Police Company of Custer and Rapid City will return this weekend after 10 months of duty at Fort Carson, Colo. The 235th began its demobilization process on Jan. 2, 2004, and will return January 9th.
“The 235th Military Police Company has provided a valuable service to the Army and Fort Carson during this deployment,” said Gov. Rounds on the announcement. “I want to thank the families and the employers for their sacrifices during these busy times.”
The South Dakota National Guard will host a deactivation ceremony for the units' families, friends, and community to welcome them home. Their welcome home ceremony will be held Saturday, Jan. 10, at 1:30 p.m. in the Rapid City Stevens High School Theater. About 90 members of the 235th deployed to Fort Carson in March where they provided law enforcement at the post.
The South Dakota Army National Guard currently has 750 soldiers from six units in Iraq and Kuwait. They include the 200th and the 842nd Engineer Companies, the1742nd, 740th and 727th Transportation Companies and Company B, 109th Medical Battalion.
About 90 members of the 665th Maintenance Company continue to provide security at Ellsworth Air Force Base and Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls.
Thirty-five members of the 1085th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) are training at Fort Stewart, Ga., and will soon deploy to Kosovo to support peacekeeping operations there. The 1085th will provide air ambulance missions with its UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, just as they did in a similar deployment to Bosnia last year.
About 900 South Dakota Guard members were recently mobilized to support the second rotation of troops in Iraq. The 153rd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 147th Field Artillery, and the 216th Engineer Detachment (Firefighters) are training at Fort Sill and Fort Carson.
Rapid City's 109th Engineer Group remains on alert to support engineer missions in Afghanistan. The unit could be mobilized by April 1, 2004.