SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Army National Guard soldiers have returned to the U.S. after a nearly nine-month deployment in Afghanistan.

The soldiers are members of the Guard's 1,742nd Transportation Company that is based in Sioux Falls and Flandreau. The soldiers are at Fort Hood, Texas, where they will spend up to two weeks before returning to South Dakota.

The group deployed approximately 160 soldiers in December to provide transportation support and convoy security as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

This is the third mobilization for the transportation company. It was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003-2004 and in support of Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-1991.

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