SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) – The Black Hills communities of Spearfish, Belle Fourche and Sturgis have welcomed home 160 South Dakota Army National Guard soldiers on Thursday.

A ceremony for the 842nd Engineer Company took place Thursday afternoon at Black Hills State University in Spearfish.

The unit, which deployed in September, just completed a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan. The soldiers have been completing demobilization requirements at Fort Bliss, Texas.

While overseas, members of the 842nd used bulldozers, scrapers, cranes, loaders and 20-ton dump trucks to build and maintain roads, construct base force protection measures and provide limited clearing operations.