Airmen Return Home To North Texas

Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter

FORT WORTH (CBS11) – After a three-month deployment, more than 200 members of the 301st Fighter Wing Airmen unit are back home.

They arrived at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth Monday morning to cheers and hugs from loved ones.

"I couldn't get off the plane fast enough, but I am here and I'm happy," said Senior Airmen Angelica Lavigne.

The fighter squadron had been deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

Among the crowd that welcomed the service members were handfuls of children who could hardly wait to see their parents.

"When you go somewhere and you feel like you are forgetting something. That's how I felt all the time without my kids," said Airmen Tiffany Karwacinski who fought back tears after reuniting with her 4-year old son.

Air Force officials say the group is back home for good.

They say there is still a smaller number from the same squadron deployed in Afghanistan.

They expect to bring them home soon.

(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)