UPDATE: Welcome-home ceremonies scheduled for Iowa Army National Guard units

To The Press

Specific times have now been determined for welcome home ceremonies streaming online for all of the Iowa National Guard members who have been deployed for the last year with the 1-133rd Infantry Battalion.

The Guard had previously announced the days of the ceremonies — which will be presented on the units’ Facebook pages but will not be open to the public because of COVID-19 concerns — but had not announced all the times.

Maj. Katherine Headley, Iowa National Guard public affairs officer, told the Press that videos of the ceremonies should remain available to view on the individual company Facebook pages, or all of them can be seen at the Iowa National Guard Facebook site, facebook.com/IowaNationalGuard.

Welcome home ceremonies will be:

• Company A — About 130 soldiers will be honored Tuesday, April 13, starting at 11:45 a.m. at the Dubuque Regional Airport; livestreamed on facebook.com/ASSASSINS133INF.
• Company B — About 130 soldiers will be honored today, Friday, April 9, starting at 12:30 p.m. at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids; livestreamed on facebook.com/bravocompany1BN133INF.
• Company C  — About 100 soldiers were honored Wednesday, April 7, at the Waterloo Regional Airport; ceremony is available at facebook.com/CharlieCompanyFriends.
• Company D — About 110 soldiers will be honored today, Friday, April 9, at 12:15 p.m. at the Quad City International Airport in Moline; livestreamed on facebook.com/DCo133INF.
• Headquarters Company — About 150 soldiers will be honored Tuesday, April 13, starting at noon at the Waterloo Regional Airport; livestreamed on facebook.com/133Hellraiser.

Families will be able to pick up their service members after the ceremonies, but will not be allowed in during the ceremonies.

The Ironman Battalion supported Operation Spartan Shield in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, which encompasses 27 countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

This was the fifth federal mobilization for the Ironman Battalion since 2000, including a nearly 22-month mobilization in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from September 2005 through August 2007.