Minn. National Guard pilots due home
by The Associated Press

ST. PAUL -- Five soldiers from Minnesota's National Guard Detachment 39 are returning home after a one-year stint in Afghanistan.

Detachment 39 is made up of pilots and system operators who conducted continuous combat flights throughout Afghanistan. Their aircraft were equipped for centralized intelligence collection and analysis by providing infrared imagery. The detachment logged more than 600 flight hours and conducted some of the most high-profile missions in Afghanistan.

The soldiers are expected to fly into the Army Aviation Support Facility in St. Paul around lunctime on Friday.