This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

There were no bands and no finger foods, but for 40 returning soldiers Wednesday afternoon, it was a sweet homecoming nonetheless.

Brothers Ian, 9, and Hayden Glass, 6, held hand-painted signs to welcome their dad, Brian Glass. Six-year-old Geronimo Moreno carried a poster he adorned with Transformer and Sponge Bob stickers as well as his hand-printed message: "Welcome home Daddy. You are my hero."

When his father, also named Geronimo Moreno, arrived, the boy would not let go of his hand.

The soldiers returned in three groups throughout the afternoon aboard commercial aircraft from El Paso, where they were debriefed after returning from Afghanistan.

Members of the Army Reserves' 971st Medical Logistics Company, they spent the last year making sure medical units in Afghanistan had the supplies they needed to treat injured warriors and civilians. They were based at Bagram Air Field, but occasionally traveled to other areas.

Another 47 soldiers returned to other airports nearer their homes, such as in St. George, California or Idaho. The unit is based in Ogden.

"Waiting 10 minutes is so much harder than waiting a year!" an impatient Rachelle Ponis, 12, said before her father, Bryce Ponis, arrived. She, too, held a hand-made sign, this one in the fashion of an American flag.

Candie Moreno of Syracuse said this deployment was easier for her brother's family than his first. That time, Geronimo Moreno was active-duty Army, in an infantry unit in Iraq.

"This time was a lot less stressful," said Candie Moreno, who served six years in the Army herself, and brought a bundle of red, white and blue balloons shaped like stars to the airport.

The 971st is part of the U.S. Army Reserve 807th Medical Command, based at Fort Douglas. It has units from the Midwest to California.

kmoulton@strib.com