Family and friends welcome approximately 120 Airmen from the Virginia Beach-based 203rd RED HORSE Squadron back to Virginia Oct. 8 after serving in Afghanistan and other locations in the Central Command area of operations. The unit began federal active duty Feb. 17, 2011, spent several weeks conducting final preparations in Virginia, then spent three weeks in early March at Fort McCoy, Wisc., for Combat Skills Training before heading overseas. While deployed, the Airmen of the 203rd RED HORSE served as part of the 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group, an organization made of up more than 400 personnel from the 203rd and other RED HORSE units that was a mix active duty and Air National Guard. The 1st ERHG was headquartered in Al Udeid AB, Qatar and was responsible for providing theater engineer support for vertical and horizontal construction missions and projects that enhanced operations, safety and quality of life for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines in the Central Command Area of Operations including Al Udeid Air Base, Thumrait Air Base, Manas Transit Center, Al Dhafra Air Base, Bagram Air Field, Al Mubarak Air Field, Camp Leatherneck, Camp Dwyer, and Kandahar Air Field. (Photo by Cotton Puryear, Virginia Department of Military Affairs)