ST. CLOUD — Family members have welcomed home nearly 160 soldiers from a central Minnesota National Guard unit from an overseas deployment.

The Guard’s 851st Vertical Engineer Co. returned Tuesday from a nine-month deployment in Kuwait.

During their deployment, the soldiers completed construction projects to support military units in several countries, including Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Afghanistan.

According to a press release, the company’s commander thanked the soldiers before they met with their families.