Mass. National Guard Troops Return Home From Deployment
READING (CBS) -- More than 100 Massachusetts National Guard soldiers will be home in time for the holidays this year.
The soldiers of the 379th Engineering Company were greeted by cheering crowds of friends and family Friday after returning from a 9-month deployment to Afghanistan.
Governor Deval Patrick and Major General Leon Scott Rice, commander of the state's National Guard, welcomed the troops on the tarmac at Hanscom Air Force Base early Friday morning.
The Company, based in Buzzards Bay, deployed in April in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The battalion has endured 14 deployments in 10 years.
Troops were welcomed by family members and told during a brief speech by their commander that after spending a few weeks with family they should get back to their second job - taking care of their fellow soldiers.
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