Members of the North Dakota National Guard will soon begin deployment to Kosovo.

North Dakota will send 700 National Guard members to participate in an ongoing NATO peacekeeping mission in the Balkan country.

"Our main mission there is to maintain a safe environment and allow freedom of movement, so some day they can govern themselves," said Brig. Gen. Alan Dohrmann.

Dohrmann is the commanding general of Task Force Falcon 12, the American contingent of the NATO mission in Kosovo.

The Guard will host a send-off celebration for members on Sunday. It is at 1 p.m. at the Bismarck Civic Center.

The North Dakota National Guard has known for two years about this deployment. It is the first time this much advance notice was given for deployment, Dohrmann said. The hope is that it gives Guard members the opportunity to take care of personal responsibilities before leaving.

"When I originally started, it was six days," Col. Dob Fode said. He has been in the North Dakota National Guard 32 years.

There are advantages and disadvantages to receiving notice so far in advance, he said. He's seen other members use the extra time to help make arrangements for their family. In some cases, Guard members have made videotapes showing how to do household tasks they normally cover, like how to turn on the snow blower, he said.

The Guard used the extra time to do training that was normally done once the unit was mobilized. They've worked on "basic warrior tasks," battle drills, cultural training and memorizing 15 phrases in Serbian and Albanian, Dohrmann said.

While in Kosovo, the Guard members will be making their presence known by being out in the communities and talking to people, mostly through interpreters.

They also will be on hand during some municipal elections, and in February and March, when tensions between the Albanian majority and Serbian minority escalate because of historical events being marked. The area is considered "stable but fragile," Dohrmann said.

The Guard members will be deployed for 12 months. There still will be about 3,000 North Dakota National Guard members in the state after deployment, Dohrmann said.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)