Oregon Soldiers Honored At Salem Ceremony After Horn Of Africa Deployment (Photo) - 06/14/26
SALEM, Ore. — More than 200 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team stood in formation Sunday at the Salem Convention Center, where families, leaders and community members formally welcomed them home from a nearly year-long deployment to the Horn of Africa.
"More than 200 Soldiers deployed. More than 200 now here at home," said Brig. Gen. Philip DeMontigny, Assistant Adjutant General, Army, Oregon National Guard. "The mission was accomplished. The standard was upheld. Oregon is proud."
Soldiers from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, and Alpha Company, 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion, mobilized in May 2025 and returned home April 3, 2026. They deployed as part of Task Force Bataan, a multi-state National Guard formation of more than 1,100 Soldiers from Oregon, New Mexico, Washington and Louisiana. The task force operated in support of U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Africa Command, conducting security and base defense at military installations in Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia.
DeMontigny, who previously served in the Horn of Africa and commanded the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team earlier in his career, brought a personal perspective to the welcome home.
"I know the climate. I know the distance from home. I know what that deployment asks of a Soldier and a family," he said.
Capt. Nathan Scull, commander of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, said Oregon Soldiers built lasting infrastructure for U.S. forces in the region. Engineers from Alpha Company, 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion, constructed three new training ranges at Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti, and fielded a new secure communications network supporting the Djibouti Base Cluster.
"U.S. AFRICOM command didn't just approve the new network," DeMontigny said. "They designated it as the standard for every other base in the region to follow."
At Chabelley, Oregon Soldiers also stood watch over MQ-9 Reaper drones conducting reconnaissance and strike missions across the U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Central Command areas of operation. Those missions resulted in the neutralization of more than 300 enemy combatants during the rotation.
At Kismayo Airfield, Somalia, Oregon mortarmen from Bravo Company conducted counterbattery fire on the point of origin of an Al-Shabaab rocket attack within three minutes.
"Three minutes," DeMontigny said. "That is training, discipline, and the calm that only comes from Soldiers who know their job and trust the person next to them."
The task force partnered with service members from Greece, Italy, France, Lithuania, Japan, Germany and Spain, hosting foreign badge events that included the Norwegian Foot March and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. Oregon Soldiers supported Naval Special Warfare operations against ISIS-Somalia and were chosen for a sensitive detachment supporting the search for an American hostage taken in West Africa. Scull served as officer-in-charge, with 1st Sgt. Richard Bradeen as noncommissioned officer-in-charge.
"You too served," DeMontigny told the families and employers in the audience. "You managed households, took care of children, held down your own jobs, and absorbed the uncertainty so that your Soldier could be mission focused."
He pointed to three values that carried the Soldiers through the rotation: "You were connected. You were competent. You were committed."
Gov. Tina Kotek also addressed the formation, thanking the Soldiers and those who supported them at home.
"The relationships that you have formed with other units from other states, as well as other countries, are really, incredibly important," Kotek said. "You have represented Oregon beyond reproach with such talent, with such skills, with such commitment."
The Soldiers initially returned home April 3, 2026, reuniting with their families at their local armory during a welcome home and yellow ribbon event. Sunday's official ceremony provided a final formal recognition of their service.
The Oregon Army National Guard, with approximately 5,500 Soldiers, recruits citizen-Soldiers who serve part-time, one weekend a month and two weeks a year, while working civilian jobs, attending school or raising families. More information is available at www.oregonarmyguard.com.
B-Roll video for release: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1010891/b-roll-41st-infantry-brigade-combat-team-demobilization-ceremony-following-horn-africa-deployment
Photos for release:
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Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team stand in formation during an official demobilization ceremony at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Ore., June 14, 2026. The ceremony recognized more than 200 Soldiers from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, and Alpha Company, 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion, who deployed to the Horn of Africa from May 2025 to April 2026 as part of Task Force Bataan. During the deployment, Oregon Soldiers conducted security and base defense operations at military installations in Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia, partnering with service members from New Mexico, Washington, Louisiana and seven allied nations in support of U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Africa Command. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)
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More than 200 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team stand in formation during an official demobilization ceremony at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Ore., June 14, 2026. The Soldiers, from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, and Alpha Company, 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion, deployed to the Horn of Africa from May 2025 to April 2026 as part of Task Force Bataan, a multi-state National Guard formation of more than 1,100 Soldiers from Oregon, New Mexico, Washington and Louisiana. The task force operated in support of U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Africa Command, conducting security and base defense operations at military installations in Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)
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Capt. Nathan Scull, formation commander, salutes as the 234th Army Band, Oregon Army National Guard, plays the national anthem during an official demobilization ceremony at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Ore., June 14, 2026. The ceremony recognized more than 200 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team who deployed to the Horn of Africa from May 2025 to April 2026 as part of Task Force Bataan in support of U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Africa Command. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)
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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek returns a unit guidon to Capt. Nathan Scull, commander of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard, during an official demobilization ceremony at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Ore., June 14, 2026. Scull presented the guidon to Kotek at the unit's mobilization ceremony in May 2025, and it was displayed in the Oregon State Capitol throughout the Soldiers' deployment to the Horn of Africa as part of Task Force Bataan in support of U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Africa Command. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)
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Brig. Gen. Philip DeMontigny, Assistant Adjutant General – Army, Oregon National Guard, delivers remarks during an official demobilization ceremony at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Ore., June 14, 2026. The ceremony recognized more than 200 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team who deployed to the Horn of Africa from May 2025 to April 2026 as part of Task Force Bataan in support of U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Africa Command. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)
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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek delivers remarks during an official demobilization ceremony at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Ore., June 14, 2026. The ceremony recognized more than 200 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team who deployed to the Horn of Africa from May 2025 to April 2026 as part of Task Force Bataan in support of U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Africa Command. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)
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Oregon state Sen. Christine Drazan, representing the 26th Senate District, shakes hands with Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team in a receiving line at an official demobilization ceremony at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Ore., June 14, 2026. Drazan joined other elected officials, including Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, in greeting more than 200 Soldiers returning from a deployment to the Horn of Africa from May 2025 to April 2026 as part of Task Force Bataan in support of U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Africa Command. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)
