Wichita ? Seventeen members of a McConnell Air Force Base unit have returned home after five months in the Middle East.

McConnell personnel on war duty have been returning one or two at a time, but this group was one of the largest to return through Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.

The troops who returned Friday are members of 22nd Services Squadron, a support unit.

“They fed the troops. They lodged the troops. They did recreation. They did an outstanding job,” said Maj. Tammi Rogers, one of those on hand to greet them.

McConnell personnel, including an honor guard with a welcome banner, gathered to greet the returnees, who were traveling since Wednesday.

Barbara McCammitt held a small American flag and a bright bouquet as she waited with her 4-year-old grandson, Damien, to welcome her daughter, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michelle Henderson.

As Henderson, 32, walked toward the young son she had not held for months, someone called out to her: “Got a little guy waiting for you.”

As she picked up Damien, he wrapped his arms around her, and a tear formed as she held him, swayed back and forth and rubbed his back.

Nearby, someone else’s waiting child held a bright yellow balloon that said, “We missed you, Daddy.”

Returning Tech. Sgt. James Jolliff greets fellow Tech. Sgt. Tennille Teichman with a kiss and hug upon his arrival at Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita. Henderson was one of 17 soldiers with the 22nd Services Squadron returning Friday to McConnell Air Force Base's 22nd Air Refueling Wing after being deployed since January.