 The gloomy, rain-saturated day wasn't enough to hold back the smiles, tears of joy, and warm hugs. The Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 171st Air Refueling Wing welcomed home 80-plus guardsmen from their deployment to southwestern Asia. The guardsmen departed in late October in support of Operation Enduring Sentinel. Four KC-135 aircraft assigned to the unit transported the guardsmen to their deployed location, and carried out several aerial refueling missions before returning home. No one wants to deploy during the holiday season and miss out on spending valuable time with their families, but it is important for us to take the fight to our adversaries in their territories to maintain our nation's defense. The guardsmen will enjoy well-deserved time off before jumping back into extremely high-tempo operations. The unit is currently preparing for major changes to the Air Force's war-fighting tactics and capabilities. Another round of deployments to the Pacific Area of Operations and the installation's upcoming 75th anniversary celebration. Reporting from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I'm Master Sergeant Brian Hoover.