Part of their deployment included training and working with Afghan and German firefighters.

For many, the toughest part of any deployment isn't necessarily the mission, but leaving family behind.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard says, "Among the seven soldiers, these were the children behind as they were deployed: Grant, 2 years old; Mickalea, 2 years old; Quinn, 3 years old; Landon, 2 years old; Emma, 4 years old; and Isabel, 3 years old."

Wife Tami Aschwege says, "It's nice to have other family members around because nobody else knows what you're going through except for them, so you can kind of rely on each other and when somebody's having a bad day, you can be there to support one another."

During part of their deployment, the soldiers helped combat an apache helicopter fire.

All say they're glad to be home safe.

-Zach Nugent