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220 members of Iowa National Guard return home

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April 22nd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Some 220 members of the Iowa National Guard have returned home from Afghanistan. The 132nd Fighter Wing arrived in Des Moines late Saturday, after several flight delays.  Tina Claus, of Omaha, Neb., told the Des Moines Register that the wait was worth it to see her husband, Lt. Col. Brian Claus. She says their children, ages 11 and 7, had been looking forward to it all day, and they would have been there even if the wait extended into Sunday.  Fifty members of the unit were sent to Afghanistan in November. The rest deployed in February.  The 1,000-member unit has flown more than 8,000 combat missions. Congress is considering a proposal to cut the size of the unit and remove its 21 F-16 fighter jets in favor of unmanned drones.