BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Doug Burgum today honored about 200 North Dakota Army National Guard soldiers who recently returned from a yearlong mission in Washington, D.C., protecting the airspace around the nation’s capital.
During the welcome home ceremony in Grand Forks, Burgum expressed his deepest gratitude for members of the 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery (1-188th ADA) Regiment who worked with other Department of Defense agencies on Operation Noble Eagle.
“For over 130 years, North Dakota Guardsmen have been serving our nation in times of war and in times of peace, and today we welcome home the members of the 1-188th and we celebrate another successful milestone in this storied history of the North Dakota National Guard,” Burgum said at the Alerus Center.
“The work that all of you have done in supporting Operation Noble Eagle has been exemplary,” Burgum said, noting the 1-188th ADA is the most-deployed unit in the North Dakota National Guard, having just completed its 11th deployment since 2004. “Our pride in this battalion only builds with each deployment.”
“Your exceptional service to our state and our nation instills deep feelings of pride, and your safe return home fills us all with joy,” Burgum said. “On behalf of a grateful state and nation, I want to say to you – the families, friends, communities, employers, schools, churches, everyone who supported these great soldiers during their deployment – we say thank you. And to the soldiers, we offer our deepest gratitude for protecting our nation’s capital region and proving again that the North Dakota National Guard has the best soldiers in the United States.”