ST. PAUL -- A large contingent of Minnesota National Guard soldiers who served in Iraq return to the state today.
The National Guard says 215 soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 94th Cavalry, 1st Brigade Combat Team will return to St. Paul. Army Lt. Col. Rick Schute says the soldiers are flying on commercial, military-chartered flight and will arrive at the 133rd Airlift Wing.
The brigade, which provides reconnaissance and security, supported the final phase of the Iraq war.
Schute says it's the first of many groups returning to Minnesota over the next three weeks. Buses will carry the soldiers along four different routes throughout the state and will stop at various armories, including Pine City, Cloquet, Duluth, Anoka, St. Cloud, Brainerd, Hutchinson, Redwood Falls and Bloomington.
