Wisconsin National Guard troops return next week from overseas duty

Approximately 90 Wisconsin National Guard members - the roughly 60-member 82nd Agribusiness Development Team and about 30 aviation Soldiers from West Bend, Wis. - are back on U.S. soil from Afghanistan and Kosovo, respectively, and are expected to return to Wisconsin next week.

The 82nd ADT left Wisconsin Feb. 4 for several weeks of mobilization training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., before taking over the agribusiness development mission in Kunar Province, Afghanistan in April. Approximately one month later, the 82nd ADT reorganized, with the agribusiness specialists supporting Provincial Reconstruction Team Kunar and the remainder of the unit serving in Afghanistan in various capacities.

Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers from Company F, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment and Detachment 1, Company B, 248th Aviation Support Battalion, have completed a yearlong mobilization in which they supported the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) medevac mission and staffed the headquarters, lift and maintenance units.

The aviation Soldiers - who left Wisconsin Sept. 24 of last year for about two months of training at Camp Atterbury prior to deploying to Kosovo in November - are the first wave of Wisconsin National Guard members to return from Kosovo. The 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade's headquarters company, along with members of the 32nd Military Police Company, are expected to leave Kosovo in about two weeks.

The 82nd ADT members and the aviation Soldiers have already redeployed from overseas and will spend several days at Camp Atterbury to complete demobilization activities before returning to Wisconsin.