160 members of the ND National Guard’s 188th Engineering Battalion based in Wahpeton left this morning just after 7am for training, as part of their year-long deployment to Kuwait.

The Wahpeton, and Dwight Fire Department escorted the buses out of town. Citizens lined 4th Street and Dakota Avenue holding American flags showing support of the troops.  

The soldiers will be going to Fort Bliss, Texas for further mobilization training before traveling to Kuwait for the rest of their 12-month deployment. It is the first mobilization for the 188th Engineers, although their legacy unit in Wahpeton — Company B of the 142nd Engineer Combat Battalion — deployed to Iraq in 2003 and to Kosovo in 2000.