Details are expected Tuesday on the return home of the Minnesota National Guard's First Brigade Combat Team.
Some 2600 Minnesota Guard members attached to the team were mobilized for training in October of 2005 and sent to Iraq in March of 2006. They were scheduled to start returning home this spring, but their tour was extended for another 125 days as part of the troop surge ordered by President Bush.
Governor Pawlenty and Minnesota's adjutant general, Major General Larry Shellito (are scheduled to brief reporters about 3:45 p.m. on plans for their return home.
The troops have been away for 22 months, including 16 months in the combat zone. A Minnesota National Guard spokesman says it's the longest deployment of any military unit during the Iraq war.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
