A soldier assigned to 23d Engineer Company walks under an American flag at Buckner Physical Fitness Center on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson during a redeployment ceremony. Nearly 100 U.S. Army Alaska soldiers returned home Thursday evening, March 14, from a nine-month deployment to the southern provinces of Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The soldiers are assigned to the 23rd Engineer Company, part of the 2nd Engineer Brigade home based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. During their deployment, the soldiers performed dangerous route-clearance missions to remove improvised explosive devices along often-used roads. The unit was featured in the National Geographic Channel's "Bomb Hunters: Afghanistan" and three-part Discovery Channel documentary "Heroes of Hell's Highway." (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Connaher)