Ariz. guardsmen return from war

The 158th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, including about 33 guardsmen from Southern Arizona, arrived in Phoenix around 6:30 p.m., said Sgt. Edward Balaban, an Arizona Army National Guard spokesman.

"It's a moving experience," Balaban said of seeing the soldiers return. "You get to see the raw emotion of 'Thank God I'm home.' "

The battalion left Arizona on Oct. 28, 2009, for training in Fort Hood, Texas, and arrived in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Dec. 19. While there, the guardsmen formed Task Force Wildcat to provide logistical support to soldiers in southern Afghanistan.

"They supported all the war fighters," Balaban said. "They loaded up the trucks for whatever supplies the war needed - food, water, medical supplies."

Task Force Wildcat completed more than 300 supply convoys, Balaban said. The 158th also oversaw other logistical services at Kandahar Airfield.

Now, the guardsmen will start a 90-day process of debriefing before returning to civilian life. Career counseling and screening for any signs of post-traumatic stress disorder will be offered, Balaban said.

"It's a long, gradual debriefing process to make everybody smart about what to expect. They're picking up where they left off with their lives over a year ago."