Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Sargent Sierra (Wetzel) Erickson is pictured with her husband, Trever Erickson and their son, Kase.
Staff Sargent Reece Thomas is pictured with significant other Hannah Brandner and her son, Axel.
Sargent Tyler Leichtman is pictured with his wife Libby Leichtman and son, Lloyd.
Fifty-four soldiers of the North Dakota Army National Guard's 835th Engineer Utilities Detachment (EUD) were honored Friday, Aug. 13 at a sendoff ceremony at the Lake Region State College campus in Devils Lake in preparation of a year-long U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) mission.
Nearly 400 family, friends and fellow National Guard members attended the ceremony. Local soldiers joined by their families were Sgt. Sierra (Wetzel) Erickson, Staff Sgt. Reece Thomas and Sgt. Tyler Leichtman.
Addressing the departing soldiers were the commander-in-chief of the North Dakota National Guard Gov. Doug Burgum, U.S. Senator John Hoeven, Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general, and Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Binstock, N.D. National Guard senior enlisted leader. The unit was alerted February 2021 and is commanded by Capt. Justin Johnson and the senior enlisted soldier is Sgt. 1st Class Charles Holzer.
"North Dakota National Guard units have consistently proven to be the best in the country, and we are confident the highly skilled 835th EUD will prove it again with the successful completion of this mission," Burgum said. "These soldiers and their families have our unending gratitude and support for their courageous service and sacrifice in defending our most cherished freedoms. We wish them a successful mission and safe return home."
The unit will be supporting Operation Spartan Shield, a multi-component – active duty, National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve operation. The mission is to maintain U.S. military posture in Southwest Asia, strengthen defense relationships, and to build partner capacity. The unit's specific tasks would consist of vertical construction and utility work to support units already in that theater.
"Our soldiers are expert carpenters, plumbers, electricians and equipment operators who will use their engineer(ing) skills to improve the lives of others," said Dohrmann, "We continue to be grateful for the support and sacrifice of our guard families, as well as the support of our employers and communities. Thanks to their outstanding support, we are able to accomplish our missions time and time again."
This is the first overseas mobilization for this unit.
Including the 835th EUD, the North Dakota National Guard has almost 600 soldiers and airmen mobilized or scheduled for mobilization. About 70 soldiers assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 285th Aviation Regiment are returning from a nine-month deployment to the National Capital Region where 225 soldiers of the 1st Battalion,188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, who left in June, are currently serving. The 957th Engineer Company has 125 soldiers preparing for deployment to the Southwest border in early autumn, while the North Dakota Air National Guard has about 115 airmen mobilized to various locations.
