A welcome home ceremony will be held next week for a Pierre-based South Dakota Army National Guard unit returning from an 11-month deployment to the Middle East.
The ceremony for the 69 soldiers of the Guard’s 152nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion will be limited to soldiers and their immediate family members, as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19.
Planned speakers for Wednesday’s 5pm ceremony at the T.F. Riggs High School gymnasium include Gov. Kristi Noem, SDNG adjutant general Maj. Gen. Jeff Marlette and 152nd CSSB commander Lt. Col. Dave Moore. The ceremony will be live streamed for public viewing on the South Dakota National Guard’s Facebook page.
The Pierre-based unit provided multifunctional logistics and support operations for U.S. and coalition forces in the region. The 152nd CSSB arrived back in the United States June 6 and have been completing demobilization requirements at Fort Hood, Texas, before returning to South Dakota.
The deployment marks the end of the second mobilization for the 152nd CSSB since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The unit first deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013.
