Minnesota National Guard soldiers of D Company, 2nd Battalion, 135 Infantry Regiment are expected to arrive in Albert Lea on Thursday afternoon from a year-long duty with the international force preventing violence in Kosovo, according to Lt. Col. Kevin Olson of the Minnesota National Guard.

He said the National Guard is preparing for eight units returning to Minnesota in a short timeframe and said the timing of everything, including welcome-home celebrations, is being worked out.

The Albert Lea unit had a farewell ceremony on July 16 last year. The soldiers left July 18 from the Rochester airport for Atterbury, Ind. They spent two months of training there, then flew to Germany for another month of training before going to Kosovo, which was then considered an autonomous region of Serbia. They became part of the 400 soldiers of the Minnesota National Guard who served as NATO and U.N. peacekeepers for nine months. In February, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia without bloodshed, though not all countries recognized an independent Kosovo.

The 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment — Task Force Bayonet — is headquartered in Mankato and has units around the region. D Company operates in the Albert Lea Armory. A Company in West St. Paul; B Company in Rochester; C Company in Winona and Owatonna; and F Company Brigade Support Battalion in Austin. At the time of the Kosovo declaration of independence, the soldiers were deployed at Camp Bondsteel in Vitina as part of NATO and U.N. peacekeeping forces that have been in Kosovo since fighting stopped in 1999. It has more ethnic Albanians than Serbians.

Amber Amundson of the Family Readiness Group for D Company said she is looking forward to seeing her husband. She said a parade is being planned through Albert Lea along with food and beverages at the Armory. She said the group is shooting for about 7 p.m. Thursday. The Patriot Guard motorcycle club, the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol also plan to be part of the welcome-home parade. Other plans are being formed.

Look to AlbertLeaTribune.com for updates as they develop.