North Dakota Soldiers to ‘Guard the Environment’ in Fargo, Bismarck

FARGO, N.D. — New Soldiers in the North Dakota National Guard will learn the value of protecting the environment they live and work in during a nationwide campaign. Those in the Recruit Sustainment Program will head to North Dakota State University in Fargo and the Community Bowl in Bismarck on Saturday afternoon as part of “Guard the Environment.”

The National Guard stresses environmental consciousness as well as caring for the communities Soldiers live and work in. This month, that ethic is being stressed with the newest Guardsmen in the forces — those in the Recruit Sustainment Program, which is for Soldiers undergoing their initial military training. More than 330 units across the country are performing environmentally-friendly activities in their communities.

In North Dakota, about 35 Soldiers wearing Guard the Environment T-shirts with their uniform pants and boots will be picking up trash from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at NDSU, beginning in the campus parking lots at the junction of 15th Avenue North and 17th Street North. A second group in Bismarck will be at the Community Bowl from noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday assisting the Park Board with trimming trees, collecting trash and pulling weeds from flower beds.

WHO: Soldiers with the North Dakota Army National Guard’s Recruit Sustainment Program

WHAT: Guard the Environment

WHEN/WHERE:
· 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, at North Dakota State University in Fargo (near junction of 15th Avenue North and 17th Street North)
· Noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, at the Community Bowl, 1701 Canary Street in Bismarck

MEDIA: No precoordination is required. For more information about the Fargo event, call Chris Hjelseth at 701-238-0634 (cell). For more information about the Bismarck event, call LeRoy Mittleider at 701-426-1483 (cell).
——
Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 3,500 Soldiers and more than 1,800 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Currently, about 75 North Dakota Guardsmen are serving overseas while more than 4,000 remain in the state for emergency response and national defense. For every 10,000 citizens in North Dakota, 65 serve in the North Dakota National Guard, a rate that’s more than four times the national average.