Members of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team Charlie Company received a warm welcome home from Iraq on Sunday, including a police and fire escort to the company's armory located at the Bradford Regional Airport.

The 160-person Pennsylvania Army National Guard Unit draws manpower from across the state's northwestern region, including Warren County, St. Marys, Ridgway, DuBois, Bradford, Port Allegany and Smethport.

Two coach buses carrying members of the unit arrived in Bradford at approximately 2 p.m. Sunday following a year-long deployment that began last September. The company served in Iraq for eight of those 12 months.

The company spent the last week in Fort Dix, N.J.

"We had just a huge crowd," said Staff Sgt. Kevin Baer of Port Allegany. "I wasn't expecting that many people."

Baer estimated the crowd at the armory to be at least several hundred. Firefighters extended two ladders over the entrance to create an arch with a U.S. flag draped between.

According to Baer, this deployment marked the second trip to Iraq for some of the company's soldiers. Members of Charlie Company volunteered to be deployed in Iraq following a deployment to Kosovo several years ago.