Families and friends of the soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment and 127th Aviation Support Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division gathered at the Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group Thursday and Saturday to welcome their loved ones home. Task Force Iron Knights left for Afghanistan at the beginning of the year for what was slated to be a nine-month deployment in support Operation Enduring Freedom. About 200 soldiers from the task force have returned to Fort Bliss as a part of a phased reduction of forces, while the remaining members of the task force stayed in Afghanistan to continue the mission of providing aviation assets for combat, medical evacuation, and troop and equipment transport for U.S., International and Afghan National Security Forces.