A group of 15 Airmen from the l243rd Engineering Installation Squadron returned home to Maine after a six month deployment to Afghanistan. Family and friends greeted the Airmen following their arrival at the Portland Jetport on Wednesday morning. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Family and friends greeted the Airmen following their arrival at the Portland Jetport on Wednesday morning. Senior Master Sargent Howie Gooldrup shares a hug with family members Eric (left), Stacie, and Doreen Gooldrup following his arrival back in Maine. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Family and friends greeted the Airmen following their arrival at the Portland Jetport on Wednesday morning. Penny Glover gives her brother, Master Sargent David Glover, a hug when he arrived at the Jetport. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Staff Sargent Kim Buzzell, from Turner, shares a big hug with her daughter, Mikayla, 6, after her arrival at the Jetport. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Family and friends greeted the Airmen following their arrival at the Portland Jetport on Wednesday morning. MacKenzie Rossel, 9, and her sister, Mikayla, 6, spy their mother, Staff Sgt. Kim Rossel as she made her way down the escalator with her fellow Airmen. Sargent Rossel's mother, Terri Truhillo holds the banner behind the girls. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

A group of 15 Airmen from the l243rd Engineering Installation Squadron returned home to Maine after a six month deployment to Afghanistan. Family and friends greeted the Airmen following their arrival at the Portland Jetport on Wednesday morning. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Family and friends, including Governor Paul LePage, greeted the Airmen following their arrival at the Portland Jetport on Wednesday morning. John Ewing/Staff Photographer