As the holiday season nears, nearly 200 North Dakota National Guard members will be spending the holidays in Iraq.

The 191st Military Police Company, based in Bismarck, Fargo and Mayville, were mobilized last January and are expected to return home early in 2009.

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 2,700 soldiers and more than 1,600 members of the Air Guard, said William Prokopyk, public information specialist for the National Guard.

He said normally, National Guard troops will deploy by units for an extended period of time like one year, while the Air Guard will typically mobilize individuals and small teams for shorter time frames, 30 to 90 days.

"This one year includes pre-mobilization training performed at an Army or Army Guard (camps) outside of North Dakota and actual deployment in the country," Prokopyk said.

He said other North Dakota units that have been alerted for mobilization include the 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment based out of Grand Forks.

About 40 members of that unit are expected to be deployed to Afghanistan sometime early in 2009.

Prokopyk said that same unit also received an alert to "be prepared" to support three other missions in an unspeficied location.

About 40 soldiers with a Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID-IV) group and two Sentinel Radar missions with approximately 25 and eight members each are included in the be-prepared order.

Prokopyk said the big alert for mobilization came for the Kosovo Force, which will be deployed sometime this coming summer.

That deployment will affect about 700 Guard members from all across the state. Brig. Gen. Alan Dohrman will command the mission.

It will include members of the Fargo-based 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, the 426th Signal Company, also based in Fargo, the 231st Brigade Support Battalion out of Valley City, the 112th Aviation Battalion, the 68th Troop Command out of Bismarck, the 285th Aviation Battalion and the 957th Engineer Company.

Prokopyk said other states are expected to join in the task force, which is expected to number about 1,400 soliders.

(Reach reporter Brian Gehring at 250-8254 or brian.gehring@bismarcktribune.com.)