Stratford-Based Soldiers Return From Deployment To Afghanistan

STRATFORD, CT — Soldiers from a Stratford-based National Guard unit received a warm welcome home Friday after nearly a year overseas.

About 10 members of the 192nd Engineer Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Co. were reunited with their loved ones at Windsor Locks Readiness Center near Hartford after a deployment to Afghanistan for Operation Freedom Sentinel, according to Connecticut National Guard spokeswoman Allison Joanis.

"The members of the Connecticut National Guard represent some of the very best of our state," Gov. Ned Lamont stated in a news release. "We are excited to welcome these soldiers back home after spending months overseas, and we thank them for their work on completing a successful mission. We also thank the families of each soldier for the sacrifices they made while their loved one was deployed."

The soldiers' overseas mission included route clearance oversight, training support and construction operations at bases in Afghanistan and other places in Southwest Asia, according to Joanis. Some members of the 40-soldier unit came home earlier this summer.

The soldiers conduct drills in Stratford one weekend each month, Joanis stated in an email. The unit has previously aided in cleanup efforts after severe weather and other emergencies in Connecticut.

With the unit's return, the number of deployed Connecticut National Guard members is about 200, according to Joanis, with members serving in Southwest Asia, Romania and Cuba.

Maj. Gen. Francis Evon, commanding officer of the Connecticut National Guard, praised the unit's work during deployment.

"We are thrilled to reunite these soldiers with their families as well as their fellow service members who were integral to their missions overseas," he stated in a news release. "In true Connecticut National Guard standard, the unit set a very high bar for others to follow, and saw the mission through, ensuring that their predecessors were equipped for success."