Bend, Ore. – Approximately 190 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers of 1st Squadron, 82nd Cavalry Regiment, were welcomed home from Afghanistan during a demobilization ceremony at the Vince Genna Stadium in Bend, Oregon, May 16.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden; State Sen. Tim Knopp (R-Bend), representing Oregon Governor Kate Brown; Maj. Gen. Daniel Hokanson, Adjutant General, Oregon; and Col. William Prendergast, commander of 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, were in attendance at the ceremony.
The 1-82nd Cavalry Squadron mobilized in June 2014 as one of three battalion elements of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team that deployed last summer to provide security in Afghanistan.
Three Soldiers were awarded Purple Hearts in a ceremony during the Yellow Ribbon reintegration event at the Bend Riverhouse Convention Center prior to the demobilization ceremony, May 16: Staff Sgt. Christopher Beach, Spc. Michael Mangin and Spc. Brian Piccolo, all with Bravo Troop. Twenty-five Soldiers in the squadron have also earned Bronze Star Medals for their service during the deployment.
The squadron provided base defense operations and security patrols at Shindand Air Base until Nov. 9, 2014. The squadron was the last U.S. military force to leave Shindand Air Base as the base was officially turned over to the Afghanistan National Army.
The squadron was re-missioned to conduct flight-line security at Kabul Afghanistan International Airport and base defense operations for Camp International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in downtown Kabul.
In December, the squadron witnessed history as ISAF turned over operations to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) non-combat Resolute Support mission. The squadron continued to conduct base closing, equipment redistribution, and base security missions until they re-deployed to the United States and returned home to Oregon on April 15, 2015.
The unit is headquartered in Bend, with companies also in Klamath Falls, Lebanon, and Redmond, and is commanded by Lt. Col. Daniel D. Miner, Jr.
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