Approx. 150 National Guard soldiers arrive home in Wisconsin

Scores of soldiers with the Wisconsin National Guard are back home Monday. After returning from Afghanistan earlier this month, they still had some post-mobilization requirements at Fort Hood, Texas, before returning to the Badger State.

The plane carrying approximately 150 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry touched down in Wisconsin around 2:30 p.m. Unfortunately, coronavirus restrictions meant they couldn’t receive a traditional welcome home, however senior leaders were on-hand at the airport to greet them

Now, the soldiers will get on buses, which will take then take them to their local armories – and, more importantly, their families – in Eau Claire, Abbotsford, Menomonie, New Richmond, Rice Lake, Arcadia, Onalaska, and River Falls.

The 128th mobilized in July 2019 for their tour of duty in Afghanistan, where they relieved fellow members of the Red Arrow, the 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, and were there for seven months. They were able to come home as part of the drawdown of soldiers in the country.

In all, almost 400 “Red Arrow” soldiers mobilized last July. The rest of them are still serving and supporting the Army’s 3rd Security Force Assistance Brigade and are expected to return around the time they were originally scheduled.