Homecoming is today for about 70 Peoria soldiers
PEORIA - About 70 Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers who served in Afghanistan over the last year are expected to return home today.
A ceremony for Company B, 2nd Battalion, 238th General Support Aviation Battalion will be held at Peoria's Army Aviation Support Facility 3, at 2323 S. Airport Road in Peoria at 7:30 p.m. Among the returning soldiers is Sgt. Tim Uphoff of Champaign.
The soldiers were mobilized in November 2008 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Illinois Army National Guard soldiers were joined by about 70 South Carolina Army National Guard soldiers to complete their mission in Afghanistan. The group of soldiers supported three regions of the Afghanistan theater during their deployment.
The Illinois Army National Guard members were part of a heavy lift helicopter company.
Some of the soldiers were responsible for carrying troops and supplies to outlying areas of Eastern and Central Afghanistan and some provided maintenance support, helping to maintain aircraft airframes.
During their deployment, the Peoria-based unit flew over 7,000 hours, carried over 6 million pounds of cargo, transported hundreds of thousands of troops and conducted over 500 deliberate and hasty air assaults.
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