Friends and family members wait for their Marines and Sailors with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, during a homecoming ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., Dec. 17, 2012. The 24th MEU returned to the U.S. after completing nearly nine months deployed as an expeditionary crisis response force along with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group.