DRAPER – The approximately 300 soldiers of the Utah National Guard’s First Battalion, 211th Aviation, will return to Utah from their 12-month deployment to Afghanistan in two groups tomorrow and Sunday, respectively, at the Utah Air National Guard Base in Salt Lake City.
The mission of the 1-211th (First of the 211th) in Afghanistan was to fly its AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters to conduct aerial route reconnaissance and provide armed escort for U.S. and Coalition aircraft.
The arrival schedule for soldiers on Thursday, Jan. 17, is as follows:
• The first charter aircraft (with 75 soldiers) will arrive at approximately 9:40 a.m.
• The second aircraft (with 75 soldiers) will arrive at approximately 10:40 a.m.
Arrival times for the flights on Sunday, Jan. 20, are yet to be determined. Once those flight times are established, the Utah National Guard will announce them via Twitter @UTNationalGuard.
Soldiers arrived from overseas at Fort Hood, Texas, earlier this week and have been undergoing demobilization processing.
Charter flights typically run ahead of schedule, so media planning to cover the return of the 1-211th should plan to be on site one hour before the announced arrival time.
Submitted by: Utah National Guard
Contact: Public Affairs, Utah National Guard 801-432-4407
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews