UPDATED 1:25 p.m. DELAVAN - A lot can change in a year. That's something about 60 members of a Delavan-based Illinois National Guard unit will find out early next week when they return home from a 12-month deployment in support of the war in Iraq. | Deployed unit, Delavan are like family

The Delavan community hopes to ease that long road home from war with a welcome-back parade Tuesday for the 1144th Transportation Battalion, which shipped out to much fanfare in April 2007 for training in Indiana and then to Kuwait.

But before they return to their day jobs and their families, the soldiers must begin the reintegration process, which they did Thursday when they arrived back at Camp Atterbury, Ind., for a threeto five-day stay.

"While a soldier's deployed, things change," such as the other spouse cutting the grass or taking care of other new chores, said Lt. Anthony Buchanan from the public affairs office at Camp Atterbury. "They're gonna return to an environment where they're not used to that.

"You've changed and they've changed," he said.

During the next several days, the Guard members will undergo medical evaluations, including preliminary mental health checks, and fill out paperwork, said Buchanan.

"Basically, it's a lot of decompression time, just so they can get accustomed to being in the United States again," he said.

And they can talk to family members during that time, he said. Most just turn on the cell phones they've kept in their duffel bags as soon as they arrive, he said.

Welcome-home celebration

The Illinois National Guard could not say Friday what day exactly the unit would be arriving back at the Delavan armory, though demobilization at Camp Atterbury typically takes three to five days. (Like other Guard units, it's made up of men and women from across Illinois, not just from the area.)

But Delavan, a city of about 2,000, is planning a welcome-home parade through downtown on Tuesday, though greeters will be ready for a date change if need be, said City Clerk Penny Bright.

"If you know Delavan at all, you know we have a parade to celebrate anything special," said Harriet Szadkowski, one of the parade coordinators. "It's in our history - we just have to do it."

A parade is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Delavan schools complex on Locust Street and head north through downtown to the armory on Third Street, she said. The Guard has planned its own short ceremony at the armory - where a 20-by-30 foot flag has been added - after the parade, she said.

The entire city has been involved, she said, from putting fresh flowers in pots to line the street, to packing sack lunches for the returning Guard members. The parade will include a local fire engine, 100 flags, bagpipes, and the Patriot Guard Riders. The American Legion is also providing a luncheon for the families of the troops.

The fanfare should be similar to other Central Illinois celebrations, such as when the Bloomington-based 33rd Military Police Battalion of the Illinois Guard returned to the Twin Cities in September 2007.

"It'll be quite an event," said Szadkowski. "The Guard have just given, and given, and given, to us. They have literally lived and mingled with our people. We'll be glad to welcome them home."

What they did in the Mideast

The Delavan-based unit was part of the larger Joint Logistics Task Force at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, according to the National Guard. The task force helped transport needed supplies via truck, as Iraq has minimal rail transpor-tation, the Illinois Guard previously said in a press release.

The current version of the task force, which included the Delavan unit, completed more than 1,200 missions and racked up nearly 30 million miles on the road, or about 110,000 miles each day, the Guard said. When one adds in the miles driven by the task force gun truck escorts, that adds another 10,000 miles per day, the Guard said.

For more information on the welcome-home event, contact Szadkowski at (309) 241-5456.

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Back in the U.S.

Here's some of the things the Delavan-based National Guard will be doing in Camp Atterbury, Ind., before they return to Central Illinois:

Day 1: Figure out lodging and coordinate transportation back to Delavan armory.

Day 2: Mandatory briefings on what reintegration challenges to expect, fill out paperwork that confirms active-duty status, prepare for equipment turn in, medical/dental screenings.

Day 3: Turn in any equipment not issued by the Illinois National Guard.

Day 4: Generally an extra day, finishing off assorted paperwork.

Day 5: Members are issued their DD214 form, which officially documents their active-duty tour.