South Dakota Guard Prepares for Southern Border Mission

South Dakota Guard Soldiers Mobilize for Southern Border Mission

By Sgt. 1st Class Breanne Workman, South Dakota National Guard

WAGNER, S.D. - More than 120 Soldiers of the South Dakota Army National Guard's 155th Engineer Company were honored at an activation ceremony Oct. 22 before mobilizing to the country's southern border for Operation Ardent Vanguard.

The Wagner-based unit will mobilize for about a year under the direction of the U.S. Northern Command. It will provide logistical and personnel support in partnership with U.S. Border Patrol.

Family members, community members and students filled the gymnasium at Wagner Community School for the ceremony that included a reading of the unit's mobilization order and a roll call of each mobilizing Soldier. The Soldiers mobilizing come from 49 South Dakota communities.

Maj. Gen. Mark Morrell, the adjutant general of the South Dakota National Guard, thanked the Soldiers for answering the call. He also recognized the families and employers who support them.

"A life of service begins when you recognize that your life can make someone else's life better," Morrell said.

He told the Soldiers the value of their service does not depend on recognition.

"Service isn't measured by how visible or glamorous the mission is. It's measured by how faithfully you carry the responsibility that you have accepted," he said.

Capt. Haley Derr, commander of the 155th, said the unit is ready for the mission ahead.

"As your commander, my priorities are really straightforward. It's taking care of our Soldiers, taking care of your families and then accomplishing the mission," Derr said.

He also reminded Soldiers they carry more than the mission.

"We have a mission to accomplish, a standard to uphold and a responsibility to represent our state, the community and the country well," he said.

Gov. Larry Rhoden, U.S. Sen. John Thune and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson also spoke at the ceremony.

The unit's Family Readiness Group leaders, Priscilla Harkin and Brittany Stanfield, were recognized during the ceremony. Don Kelpin of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve also was recognized. Harkin, Stanfield and Kelpin will help Soldiers and families throughout the mobilization.

The 155th previously deployed to Kuwait from 2003-05 for Operation Iraqi Freedom II and again in 2015-16.