There were tears and hugs all around inside Hangar 600 at the Salina Municipal Airport Thursday morning. After serving a year in Iraq about 75 Kansas National Guard soldiers of the 287th Special Troop Battalion, 287th Sustainment Brigade returned home. About 180 remaining troops will be welcomed home next week. Soldiers of the 287th served as the logistical support for U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq in their assigned area of operations. "We're tremendously proud of these soldiers and happy to have them home," said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, Kansas adjutant general. "It's important for us to remember and pay tribute to the tremendous service these soldiers and their families continue to give the country." Thursday's ceremony was very brief, allowing the soldiers to be quickly reunited with friends and loved ones. It's the first of two, with a second ceremony tentatively planned for next week in Salina for the remainder of the Battalion. The 287th Sustainment Brigade, headquartered in Wichita, is also made up of the 169th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, headquartered in Olathe; the 891st Engineer Battalion headquartered in Iola, and the 287th Special Troop Battalion, headquartered in Hays, as well as subordinate units.