A well-travelled North Dakota Army National Guard unit with numerous recent deployments
Overseas could embark on a yearlong mission in the nation's capitol.
The 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment-a Grand Forks unit with detachments in Fargo and Bismarck-has been alerted of a possible mobilization that would send more than 200 air defense soldiers to Washington, D.C., in March.
The local North Dakota National Guard members would work alongside other Department of Defense agencies to protect the capitol's airspace as part of Operation Noble Eagle, according to a Guard new release.
North Dakota National Guard spokesman Bill Prokopyk said the unit has done this job once before from 2013 to 2014.
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"This is a pretty good mission," Prokopyk said. "The soldiers who went to the last one had a good time. They're right there in the D.C. area, so when they're not on-duty, they can go see all of the monuments, national museums and everything else that's there."
The rotational nature of the posting has brought air defense artillery units into the capitol from across the country. The North Dakota unit would replace a unit from the Florida Army National Guard.
If deployed, the North Dakota Guard members will be led by Maj. JoDee Aubol, West Fargo.
Not counting a second run with Noble Eagle, the unit as a whole has deployed 10 times since 2004. That number includes six tours to Afghanistan, two to Iraq and a mission to Kosovo as part of a NATO peacekeeping mission.
