South Dakota National Guard Returns from Puerto Rico

Four members of a Watertown based National Guard unit have returned from deployment to Puerto Rico.

Soldiers from the South Dakota Army National Guard's Company A, 139th Brigade Support Battalion, returned home Nov. 19 after serving more than six weeks supporting hurricane recovery operations in Puerto Rico.

The primary mission was distributing water to those who were affected by Hurricane Maria

"I'm most proud of the fact that our Soldiers, along with members of the Puerto Rico and Ohio National Guard, were able to work together seamlessly to produce and distribute 920,000 gallons of water to the locals of Puerto Rico," said Staff Sgt. Greg Beynon of Sioux Falls. "To help out and see the people's faces and hear their thanks made me feel like I was truly helping."

While on deployment the guardsmen and women distributed 420,000 gallons of water and set up purification stations to provide 920,000 gallons to the area.