More than 60 soldiers returned to Iowa on Saturday afternoon after spending 11 months away

National Guard soldiers reunite with families after nearly a year away

More than 60 soldiers returned to Iowa on Saturday afternoon after nearly a year away from home. The Iowa National Guard unit flew into the Des Moines Airbase around 3 p.m. as hundreds of family members and friends eagerly awaited their arrival. The unit was away from home for 11 months. They started training in Fort Hood, Texas, before being deployed to Afghanistan. “It was our job to make sure that if there was anything the soldiers needed, the war fighter needed, we assisted in moving it throughout the battlefield,” said Lt. Col. Donald Mosinski, battalion commander.

More than 60 soldiers returned to Iowa on Saturday afternoon after nearly a year away from home.


The Iowa National Guard unit flew into the Des Moines Airbase around 3 p.m. as hundreds of family members and friends eagerly awaited their arrival.



The unit was away from home for 11 months. They started training in Fort Hood, Texas, before being deployed to Afghanistan.

“It was our job to make sure that if there was anything the soldiers needed, the war fighter needed, we assisted in moving it throughout the battlefield,” said Lt. Col. Donald Mosinski, battalion commander.