Arizona Army Guard soldiers return from Kosovo deployment

More than 150 Arizona Army National Guard soldiers are home after serving a nine-month deployment to Kosovo.

The National Guard says the soldiers who returned to Phoenix on Saturday are with the 2nd Battalion of the 285th Aviation Regiment, a Phoenix-based helicopter unit which performed hundreds of missions during the deployment.

The 2nd Battalion flies UC-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

The Guard says the battalion during the deployment completed 520 aviation support missions totaling 943 flight hours in support of Operation Joint Guardian.

According to the Guard, the deployment was the battalion’s third in the last 10 years in support of overseas contingency operations.