MARSHALL — The Minnesota National Guard will honor approximately 70 Soldiers from Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 151st Field Artillery Regiment with a pre-deployment ceremony today, Wednesday, May 28, at 5:00 p.m. at the Red Baron Arena and Expo Center in Marshall.
Doors open at 4:00 p.m., and limited seating is available. The hour-long program will include remarks from elected officials and military leadership. According to First Sergeant Ryan Brunsvold, “It’s going to be a scripted program… it will be about an hour long with different speeches given from various levels.” For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will be livestreamed on Studio 1’s Facebook page and broadcast on Spectrum Channel 180 and Blue Peak Channel 325.
The unit is deploying to the Middle East in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, where they will carry out a traditional artillery mission. “Luckily enough, we will get to do our job in theater,” said Brunsvold. “It’s a real artillery mission, something that, you know, we enlisted to do and are proud to be able to do.”
Before heading overseas, the Soldiers will travel by bus to Fort Johnson, Louisiana—formerly Fort Polk—for approximately two months of training. “We’ll be participating in a standard joint training center rotation… then the other half will be our pre-deployment training,” said Brunsvold. “We are an artillery unit, so we’re graded on our ability to provide accurate and timely fires to the brigade commander when he needs them.”
The community will have another opportunity to support the unit on Thursday, May 29, when the Soldiers depart Marshall at 5:00 p.m. from the Red Baron Arena. “They will be escorted out of town,” said Denise Schneekloth, chair of Marshall’s Beyond the Yellow Ribbon group. The route will take them west on East College Drive, south through Main Street, and out of town on Highway 59. Local and state agencies including the Marshall Police Department, Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota State Patrol, area fire departments, and the Patriot Guard Riders will participate in the escort. Additional communities along the route will join in as the convoy travels to the state line.
The ceremony and send-off events are part of a larger effort to support the Soldiers and their families. “Today and tomorrow, the Soldiers are doing some of their last-minute things before they leave, but their families are welcome to be with them these last couple of days,” Schneekloth said. “We have activities going on for the kids… and we’ll be serving them meals just so that they can be together.”
Brunsvold emphasized the value of the ceremony for the Soldiers. “It’s the support from the community. It shows that we have a place to come back home to and that there are people here who care about them.” Schneekloth added, “Not only that we care about the Soldiers, but we are going to be here for the family members that are here while the Soldiers are deployed.”
Alpha Battery is expected to return home in May 2026.
