About 165 Soldiers from the South Dakota Army National Guard’s 153rd Engineer Battalion and its Forward Support Company were welcomed home by family and friends in Huron on Saturday after returning from duty in the Middle East.
The Huron and Parkston-based units served 10 months providing command and control of attached engineer units. Members of the unit served in multiple locations throughout the region, including Iraq and Syria.
“It is great to be home! I believe everyone in our formation would tell you that it was a great experience and a very rewarding mission,” said Lt. Col. Trent Bruce, 153rd commander. “The Soldiers of the 153rd represented their state and nation in an outstanding manner.”
Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, U.S. Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds, U.S. Representative Kristi Noem and Huron Mayor Paul Aylward were at the Welcome Home event at the Huron Arena and praised the Soldiers for their service.
“The South Dakota National Guard is our state’s pride and joy,” Thune said during the ceremony. “We thank you for a job well done and mission accomplished.”
“None of us in elected office, none of us that have a business, none of us that have dreams that we make possible could do that without the rule of law and you women and men serving as Soldiers and keeping us safe under a civilian government secured by liberties,” said Michels. “You have put your lives on the line for that and to be put into harm’s way. Thank you for our freedom.”
During the unit’s deployment, the 153rd’s primary mission was to provide general engineering and maneuver support to the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command and Special Operations Joint Task Force. The unit served as operational command of five attached units totaling 550 Soldiers.
The 153rd operated in 24 different locations across four countries. In all, the unit completed more than 100 engineer construction projects, 11 bridge emplacements and 160 technical engineering support requirements, such as surveys and reconnaissance missions.
Many of the missions ensured freedom of movement for U.S. and coalition forces around the region, base infrastructure upgrades and improvements to force protection. Many of the engineer projects supported multiple operations throughout the deployment, to include key offensive objectives to liberate Mosul, Iraq, and the seizure of Raqqah, Syria.
“We literally changed the landscape of Iraq and Syria through the missions we were assigned and accomplished,” said Bruce. “We had a very fast paced, busy mission, and every single Soldier stepped up to exceed expectations.”
The 153rd’s Forward Support Company also provided key logistics and maintenance support during the deployment. The unit maintained a 95 percent operational rate on over 550 pieces of military equipment, delivered over 2.5 million gallons of fuel, prepared over 800,000 meals and ordered and installed over $2.5M of repair parts, to name a few.
The significance of the unit’s mission was also echoed by the SDNG’s highest ranking member.
“One-hundred years ago today, the South Dakota National Guard was fully mobilized fighting in World War I and just 20 years later they were in World War II,” said Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, SDNG adjutant general, while addressing the Soldiers. “This mobilization is just as big a part of our history and legacy as any of those previous wars.”
Thune also reinforced the general’s message.
“We are grateful for the contributions you have made throughout our state and nation’s history and continue to make day in and day out,” added Thune. “You have the qualities of those patriots who founded this country, who’ve defended it, and we live in a free country today – the greatest country on the face of the planet – because of the men and women in uniform who are willing to sacrifice to make it so.”
Bruce ended the ceremony praising the unit and its Soldiers for their service. 
“I am honored to be the commander of this unit and carry on the tradition and legacy of the 153rd,” said Bruce. “I am extremely proud of the professionalism and work ethic the Soldiers displayed throughout the deployment. The Soldiers did the state proud and without a doubt left an impression on everyone we worked with.”