The 160-member 1486th Transportation Company of the Ohio National Guard returned home Friday afternoon after a nearly year-long deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

A huge flag-waving and sign-carrying crowd of families and friends packed a hangar at the 179th Airlift Wing and cheered as the soldiers marched in.

Their mission was deemed a great success by their boss, Ohio Adjutant General Deborah Ashenhurst.

The soldiers sat patiently through a 30-minute ceremony with comments from dignitaries including Congressman Bob Gibbs and representatives for U-S Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman.

Then, they were dismissed into the loving arms of the people who waited impatiently to welcome them home after 316 days away.