Around 130 members of the Iowa National Guard, who spent 10 months in Iraq, will be welcomed home with a ceremony Wednesday in Des Moines. Guard spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Greg Hapgood says the 186th Military Police Company, based at Camp Dodge in Johnston, was mobilized one year ago and arrived in Iraq in January.
"Many of the members are from central Iowa, but because it is Iowa’s only military police company in the National Guard, there are soldiers from virtually all four corners of the state," Hapgood said. Around 60 members of the company previously served in Iraq between 2003 and 2004.
Their latest mission involved providing security and law enforcement support. The homecoming ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines.