SC Army National Guard unit home for holidays

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Some 150 South Carolina Army National Guard engineers are home from Afghanistan in time for the holidays. Members of the 122nd Engineer Battalion returned to a lively greeting from family and friends Monday evening following a 10-month deployment. They were welcomed at a ceremony near Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Guard commander Maj. Gen. Robert Livingston says the unit did an outstanding job and conducted more than 400 operations clearing explosive devices from roadways. The unit also tore down unused military bases as U.S. troop withdraw. They also worked on construction projects in eastern and northern Afghanistan. The unit deployed in February and trained in Texas for a month before heading to Afghanistan.