LANSING, MICH.- Friends and family will gather at the Resurrection Life Church, 5100 Ivanrest SW, in Grandville, for a 2 p.m. ceremony to welcome home approximately 330 Soldiers following an 11-month deployment to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Michigan National Guard Soldiers are assigned to four different 126th Cavalry Squadron troops and one forward support company based in Wyoming, Cadillac, Manistee and Dowagiac.

The Soldiers left Michigan in January 2008 for mobilization training at Fort Hood, Texas. They arrived in Kuwait in April and provided convoy security and security force protection mission between locations in Kuwait and Iraq.

Today, approximately 1,700 Michigan National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are deployed across the globe in support of the global war on terrorism; however, as the Michigan Guard serves the nation abroad, more than 85 percent of the force remains available, trained and ready to respond to a state emergency including a terrorist event.

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MEDIA ADVISORY
Media is invited to attend the welcome home ceremony. Resurrection Life Church will provide a video feed to any interested television station. Church and Guard public affairs representatives will direct media members to approved interview and photography locations. The Soldiers are expected to arrive at approximately 1:30 p.m. via seven Great Lakes Motorcoach buses. Family and friends are expected to arrive around 1 p.m. and will be available for interviews as time allows; Soldiers may be available for interviews following the ceremony but not prior to.