SALEM, Ore. – Nearly 200 Oregon National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment will return home to Oregon on Friday, October 3, 2025. The Soldiers were mobilized on October 20, 2024, during a ceremony in Medford and served as part of the Multinational Force and Observers mission in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.

The 1-186th Infantry Regiment, with headquarters in Southern Oregon, is preparing for a significant homecoming as approximately 150 soldiers from the unit return to Medford, while an additional group of approximately 50 service members will also arrive in Portland.

“These returning Soldiers are not part of the ongoing Portland Force Protection mission,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Bomar, Director of Public Affairs, Oregon Military Department. “These Citizen-Soldiers stepped up when called upon, serving overseas for nearly a year, away from their families and loved ones. Thank you for your sacrifice, and welcome home.”

While deployed, the unit supervised the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace, preventing any violation of its terms.

The 1-186th Infantry Regiment previously mobilized to support security for the 2021 Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C., the COVID-19 response in Oregon, and overseas operations in the Horn of Africa from 2019-2020, in Afghanistan from 2014-2015, and in Iraq from 2009-2010.

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File Images:

241020-Z-CH590-1005: Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment stand in formation as their mobilization ceremony begins on October 20, 2024, on the campus of Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Oregon. The 1-168th Infantry Regiment is scheduled to deploy to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The unit’s primary mission will be to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ best efforts to prevent violation of any of its terms. (National Guard photo by John Hughel, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)

241020-Z-CH590-1140: Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, render a hand salute during the playing of the National Anthem as they take part in their formal mobilization ceremony on October 20, 2024, held on the campus of Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Oregon. The 1-168th Infantry Regiment is scheduled to deploy to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The unit’s primary mission will be to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ best efforts to prevent violation of any of its terms. (National Guard photo by John Hughel, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)

241020-Z-CH590-1170: Brig. Gen. Alan R. Gronewold, Adjutant General, Oregon, delivers formal remarks to the Soldiers, family members, and others in attendance as the presiding officer for the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment during their formal mobilization ceremony held on the campus of Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Oregon, on October 20, 2024. The 1-168th Infantry Regiment is scheduled to deploy to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The unit’s primary mission will be to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ best efforts to prevent violation of any of its terms. (National Guard photo by John Hughel, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)