{"id":14531,"date":"2013-03-12T20:10:15","date_gmt":"2013-03-13T01:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=14531"},"modified":"2013-03-12T20:10:15","modified_gmt":"2013-03-13T01:10:15","slug":"818th-engineer-company-lands-on-u-s-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=14531","title":{"rendered":"818th Engineer Company Lands On U.S. Soil"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>818th Engineer Company Lands on U.S. Soil<\/p>\n

FORT BLISS, Texas\u00a0 Mar 12, 2013 — Almost a year after the community hosted a send-off in their
\nhonor, nearly 100 Soldiers with the North Dakota National Guard’s 818th Engineer
\nCompany (Sapper) are back on U.S. soil tonight. The Soldiers arrived at Fort Bliss,
\nTexas, at 7:40 p.m. Central time.<\/p>\n

The Soldiers served as combat engineers in Afghanistan, where they cleared routes of
\nimprovised explosive devices to protect coalition forces, ensuring safe movement and
\nmission accomplishment.<\/p>\n

“This is a great day as we welcome the members of the 818th Engineer Company back to
\nthe country they have so honorably and courageously served this past year,” said
\nGov. Jack Dalrymple. “They did an outstanding job while deployed to Afghanistan, and
\nwe are grateful for their distinguished service. Sadly, two of the unit’s members
\ndid not return home with them. We will never forget Sgt. 1st Class Darren Linde and
\nSpc. Tyler Orgaard and their families for the ultimate sacrifice they have made on
\nour behalf.”<\/p>\n

Linde and Orgaard were killed in action Dec. 3. Spc. Ian Placek was injured in the
\nattack and recently returned to Bismarck to continue his recovery.<\/p>\n

“I know today comes with mixed emotions. You’re finally back in the United States
\nand soon will be reunited with your friends and family. At the same time, I know the
\nabsence of two of your brothers is still very much felt,” said Maj. Gen. David
\nSprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general, who traveled to Texas to welcome the
\nSoldiers. “Just as you did on your missions, continue to carry their memory and
\nlegacy with you as you return home. Honor their service and sacrifice with how you
\ncontinue to live.”<\/p>\n

Capt. Robert Bohl, of Flasher, N.D., commands the unit, which is based in Williston
\nwith a detachment in Hazen. Sgt. Maj. Rashad Schaffner, of Dawson, N.D., serves as
\nthe unit’s senior enlisted leader. Nearly half of the Soldiers in the unit had
\npreviously deployed. A third volunteered to join the unit specifically to serve on
\nthe Afghanistan deployment.<\/p>\n

The Soldiers will take part in a series of post-deployment briefings and medical
\nappointments at Fort Bliss into next week. The North Dakota National Guard Public
\nAffairs Office will release information regarding the Soldiers’ scheduled return to
\nNorth Dakota as soon as it’s available.
\n—
\nSince the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has
\nmobilized more than 3,900 Soldiers and about 2,400 Airmen in support of the Global
\nWar on Terrorism. About 70 percent of all members serving today have joined since
\nthat time. Currently, more than 150 North Dakota Guardsmen are serving overseas
\nwhile more than 4,000 remain in the state for emergency response and national
\ndefense. For every 10,000 citizens in North Dakota, 65 serve in the North Dakota
\nNational Guard, a rate that’s more than four times the national average.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

818th Engineer Company Lands on U.S. Soil FORT BLISS, Texas\u00a0 Mar 12, 2013 — Almost a year after the community hosted a send-off in their honor, nearly 100 Soldiers with the North Dakota National Guard’s 818th Engineer Company (Sapper) are back on U.S. soil tonight. The Soldiers arrived at Fort […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14531"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14532,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14531\/revisions\/14532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}