The Tennessee Army National Guard's 1175th Transportation Company, composed of units from Tullahoma, Brownsville and Jacksboro, is back on U.S. soil this week at Fort Bragg, N.C., after being deployed to Iraq for almost a year.

There are at least two Bedford County soldiers in the unit, according to one Times-Gazette reader, although National Guard spokesman Nate Crawford did not have a county-by-county breakdown of the unit's membership.

The nearly 300 soldiers who departed Tullahoma on May 5, 2007, are now at Ft. Bragg undergoing out-processing. The unit is expected to return to their home stations within about a week, although no specific date has been announced.

During the deployment the transportation company hauled heavy equipment more than 1.6 million miles without a single casualty.

"That's a long way traveling at 40-50 miles an hour," said Capt. Hud Moore, 1175th Commander. "The 1.6 million miles driven by the 'heavy haulers' doesn't include mileage driven by gun trucks and support vehicles. Add that in and it nearly doubles the total miles driven by the 1175th.

"These men and women did a heck of a fine job under extremely dangerous conditions," Moore said. "I'm very proud of each and every one of them and thankful that we all returned home safely. I know the prayers of a lot of people were with us the whole time and we'll always be grateful for that."

Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, Tennessee Adjutant General, and Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Breece, Senior Enlisted Advisor, joined families and friends at Ft. Bragg to meet the returning Tennessee Guard soldiers.

Hargett had nothing but high praise for the unit. "When I was in Iraq a few months ago to visit the 1175th, all I heard were compliments on these soldiers," Hargett said. "They've performed admirably, and I'm glad we are able to be here to welcome them home. They are true Tennessee Volunteers in the finest sense of the word."