Aaron McClellan of Burlington, Colo., spends time with his daughter, Alyssa McClellan, 4, Sunday, after arriving at Forbes Field in Topeka after serving a year in Iraq.

Cheryl Colley, of Rose Hill, Kansas National Guard 714th Security Force sergeant, screams in excitement Sunday while rolling the top down in her new Mazda MX-5 Miata in the Forbes Field parking lot. This

Topeka ? It was a mad dash to the cars and home Sunday afternoon in Topeka.

The members of the 714th Security Forces unit of the Kansas National Guard arrived back in the United States and weren’t going to waste any time standing around feeling nostalgic for Iraq.

Stacy Gonzales stood with nearly two dozen members of her family who came to Forbes Field to give her a big welcome home.

“I missed my granddaughter and homemade Mexican food,” Gonzales said. “Actually, I missed any kind of real food.”

Gonzales, 42, said she was the only grandmother in the Kansas unit.

Her brother, Robert Gonzales, of Manhattan, summed up the family’s feelings when he said that he was glad she’d made it home safe.

“We’re just so glad she’s home,” he said. “Not too many 42-year-old women are carrying a gun over in Iraq”

This is Stacy Gonzales’ second deployment in the past six years. In addition to the 15 months she spent in Iraq, she’d previously been deployed to Afghanistan.

Her family is hoping that this is her last trip overseas with the National Guard.

“I voted for our president and support his decisions, but we do want to know when this war is going to be over,” Robert Gonzales said.

Tim Lang, of Ellis, returned to Topeka from his first overseas deployment. About 10 of his family members greeted him outside the terminal. They stood in a clump on the grass, talking together.

Lang’s grandson was there and had already made plans with his grandfather.

“I’m going to enjoy going fishing with this guy,” Lang said. “I want to relax for a while and enjoy my family.”