RAPID CITY - After spending a year on deployment, the South Dakota National Guard's 129th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment will be honored at a welcome home ceremony at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 17, at the Range Road Armory.

The National Guard unit mobilized April 14, 2006, to support the public affairs operation of U.S. Central Command headquartered in Tampa, Fla. Its mission included helping conduct more than 1,200 interviews between activated service members and reporters from print, radio and television markets from around the world.

The 129th MPAD is one unit consisting of National Guard soldiers from North Dakota and South Dakota. Its headquarters is in Rapid City, with a detachment in Bismarck, N.D. During the deployment, the unit was split into three different locations: Camp As Sayliyah in Doha, Qatar; Tampa; and Atlanta.

Its members were also sent to cover stories throughout the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers 27 countries including Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers wrote feature stories, provided video and photographic support for events and escorted media.