Army
Oregon National Guard soldiers return home after 9-month Egypt deployment
Stars and Stripes
January 13, 2026
Lt. Col. Joshua Rapp, commander of the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, left, and Command Sgt. Maj. Evan Garner render honors during the national anthem at the battalion’s demobilization ceremony at South Medford High School in Medford, Ore., on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Wayne Clyne/U.S. Army)
About 200 soldiers with the Oregon National Guard were welcomed home from a nine-month deployment to Egypt at a demobilization ceremony in Medford, Ore., on Sunday, according to a service news release.
The soldiers, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, were tasked with supervising the Multinational Force and Observers mission in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the release said. Some National Guard personnel from the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, were also deployed.
The 205-soldier battalion was mobilized on Oct. 20, 2024, and returned to its home state in October of last year.
The MFO mission is a decades-old international peacekeeping force tasked with enforcing the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. The Oregon soldiers worked alongside military personnel from 14 other nations, per the release.
The deployment came amid strains in the MFO mission and broader regional tensions. A three month period of the deployment saw MFO bases identified as potential targets, the release said.
Three months before the troops were mobilized, an exchange of fire between Egyptian and Israeli forces in the Rafah border area left one Egyptian soldier dead and several Israeli soldiers wounded, which itself came months after Egyptian officials warned their country’s landmark treaty with Israel could be voided. Tensions continued in 2025 as the deployment was underway, including over a purported Egyptian military buildup in the Sinai Peninsula, but the treaty held.
“In a region marked by volatility and tension, you stood watch. You maintained peace. You prevented violations of that historic treaty,” Brig. Gen. Alan Gronewold, Oregon’s adjutant general, said at the ceremony.
Despite the tensions, the release said the mission also had unusual leisure opportunities, with some soldiers learning to scuba dive and getting tours of Egypt’s historical sites.
The U.S. Army is the single largest contributor to the MFO’s forces, according to the organization, with about 465 U.S. troops deployed in 2026 out of a total international force of over 1,100 personnel.
The 1-186th Infantry Regiment’s previous deployments include Washington, D.C., for the 2021 presidential inauguration, Oregon for COVID-19 support, the Horn of Africa (2019-2020), Afghanistan (2014-2015) and Iraq (2009-2010).
Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment stand in formation during a demobilization ceremony at South Medford High School in Medford, Ore., on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Wayne Clyne/U.S. Army)