DECATUR, IL (09/10/2012)(readMedia)-- WHO:

• The Illinois National Guard's Detachment 1, Company C, 1st Battalion, 376th Aviation Regiment in Decatur.

WHAT:

• One Illinois National Guard OH-58 Kiowa helicopter and one pilot will return to the Illinois National Guard's Aviation Support Facility after completing a three-month deployment to the U.S. Southwest Border in support of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security performing border security operations. A total of four Soldiers supported the mission. The other three Soldiers have already arrived home.

WHEN/WHERE:

• Sept. 10 at 2 p.m.

• Illinois National Guard Aviation Support Facility, 660 S. Airport Rd, Decatur, Ill.

WHY:

• Dec. 15, 2011 the Secretary of Defense approved the continued use of the National Guard to support the Department of Homeland Security's effort to secure the U.S. southwest border.

• The Southwest Border extends from San Diego, Calif., to Brownsville, Texas, and is approximately 2,000 miles.

• In most areas, the Southwest Border is located in remote and sparsely populated areas of vast desert and rugged mountain terrain.

• The Southwest Border region is defined as the areas up to 150 miles north of the United States-Mexican border.

-30-