Tribune staff

Twenty-two soldiers from the Bismarck area, who have been out of the country since December, are scheduled to return shortly.

The North Dakota National Guard's 112th Command Aviation Battalion is expected to return to the United States from Bosnia during the week of Oct. 9, the Guard announced Wednesday.

The unit will land at Fort Hood, Texas, where members will be released from active duty and returned to National Guard status. They are expected to return to North Dakota within a week.

The 112th CAB, whose members include flight crew and pilots of Black Hawk helicopters,had been participating in a NATO mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"We look forward to our Guard aviators' safe return," Gov. John Hoeven said. "All North Dakotans can be extremely proud of the dedicated service shown by this unit in support of the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia."

The Bismarck-based unit was mobilized in July 2005. Soldiers were trained at Fort Hood before being deployed to Bosnia. While there, the 112th has been stationed at Eagle Base, near Tuzla. The unit operated four Black Hawk helicopters for more than 500 hours, all without incident.

"Our aviation units continue to set the standard for flying," Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk said. "The people of Bosnia-Herzegovina were comforted whenever they saw a (North Dakota) Guard helicopter flying in the skies above them."

Formal homecoming events are being planned and will be announced later, the Guard said.