Members of the 726th Air Control Squadron descended a staircase from a commercial airliner chartered to bring them back to Idaho on Monday afternoon as hundreds of family members and friends waited for their arrival with signs, ballons and great anticipation.
A thick red line was supposed to keep well-wishers inside the hangar and off the tarmac, but some children and other family members couldn’t help themselves — they charged across the line and rushed into the waiting arms of loved ones.
More than half of the 726th deployed in January in support of air operations and combat in Operation Enduring Freedom, centered in Afghanistan.
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Meridian soldier's remains arrive in Boise [w/video]
