The Missouri National Guard will recognize citizen-soldiers from the 548th Transportation Company of Trenton (who recently served in Afghanistan) during a "Freedom Salute" ceremony on Saturday night at 7 o'clock at the Ketcham Community Center.

About 170 soldiers were stationed at Shindand Air Base in the Austere region of western Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They returned in April after conducting over 300 convoy missions transporting more than 20,000,000 pounds of equipment to six forward operating bases and three village stability operations. They logged more than 390,000 miles through harsh Afghan terrain. The teams delivered supplies to hard-to-reach locations traveling across the desert landscape for up to 18 hours every day.

Army National Guard Public Affairs Representative Jennifer Archdekin talks about Saturday night's program in detail:

Click here to listen to Jennifer Archdekin

Former 548th First Sergeant Chad Smith will be the Master of Ceremonies. Awards will be presented by Retired Major Dan Hatcher, and current Recruiter Angela Scobee (a former member of the 548th).

The "Freedom Salute" ceremony is designed to acknowledge Army Guard soldiers who have supported recent military operations. The ceremony comes amid a weekend of yellow ribbon events to help ease transition from deployment to civilian life for both soldiers and their families.