Guam - Dozens waited in anticipation for the arrival of their hero at the Guam International Airport Tuesday evening. Family and friends welcomed home more than 25 members of the Guam National Guard's Saligao Platoon throughout the night

The troops spent the past year deployed to Afghanistan, where they provided security for U.S. Military Provincial Reconstruction Teams in their area of operations.

It was an experience full of ups and downs for soldiers like Staff Sergeant Jonathan Calvo, who said, respectively, "It's a feeling that nobody else can feel unless you actually been through it other than that just happy to be home."  And Specialist Philip Escribano added, "Time away was hard, but thanks to the technology like Skype, because I was able to chat and see my daughter use the video chat, everything just seemed so close."

The group went overseas, as was part of the first of the 178th Field Artillery Unit with the South Carolina Army National Guard.