The holidays came early for the family and friends of approximately 550 Soldiers from the Illinois Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, headquartered in Marion, Illinois, with units based in Effingham, Litchfield, and Mt. Vernon, as they were were greeted with cheers, hugs, and tears at welcome home ceremonies Dec. 6 and Dec. 12 in Mascoutah and Rockford.
Approximately 265 Soldiers arrived in Illinois Dec. 6, while the remaining Soldiers returned Dec. 12.
The Soldiers from the Blackhawk Battalion were mobilized in ceremonies Feb. 8-9 in support of Operation Spartan Shield and deployed to seven countries throughout the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility, namely Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Israel…