Minnesota Guardsmen to return from Guantanamo Bay
June 18, 2021 (ST. PAUL, Minnesota) – Approximately 150 Soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Military Police Company headquartered in Stillwater, will be returning to Minnesota Saturday after a nine-month deployment to Cuba.
The Soldiers provided base security in support of Joint Task Force Guantanamo whose mission is to conduct safe, humane and legal detention operations. The unit left Minnesota in August 2020 for Fort Bliss, Texas, to conduct additional training prior to arriving in Cuba.
The 34th Military Police Company was awarded the Major General Harry H. Bandholtz Award for the second year in a row. The award recognizes the top military police units in the U.S. Army.
Since September 11, 2001, the 34th Military Police Company has deployed Soldiers to Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Guantanamo Bay. The unit was also instrumental in the response to civil unrest in the Twin Cities metro area in May and June of 2020, as one of the first Minnesota National Guard units to respond.
– About the Minnesota National Guard –
Established in 1856 and headquartered in St. Paul, the Minnesota National Guard has more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen who serve in 58 communities across the state. The citizen-soldiers and airmen of the Minnesota National Guard are ‘Always Ready’ to fight the nation’s wars, protect the country, respond to state emergencies and contribute to local communities. For more information about the Minnesota National Guard, visit https://MinnesotaNationalGuard.ng.mil.
