Eleven-year-old Michaela Sizek and 3-year-old Mya Sizek wait with their mother, Emily Sikes, for Spc. Austin Sikes to get off the airplane after arriving home from a Middle East deployment. About 50 Soldiers from the Macomb-based 661st Engineer Construction Company returned to Illinois on Saturday, February 7, after being deployed to the Middle East for about five months. The Soldiers were greeted by friends and family after landing at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport’s Stellar Aviation facility in Springfield. While deployed the unit built and maintained infrastructure for U.S. Forces including buildings, roads, protective berms and barriers, and other fortifications. The remaining approximately 100 Soldiers in the unit are expected to return to Illinois within the next couple weeks. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Danielle Dillard, 183d Wing, Illinois Air National Guard)
| Date Taken: | 02.07.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2026 13:22 |
| Photo ID: | 9512508 |
| VIRIN: | 260207-Z-QF219-1012 |
| Resolution: | 5837x4670 |
| Size: | 2.24 MB |
| Location: | SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | MACOMB, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 3 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers Return Home After Middle East Deployment [Image 7 of 7], by A1C Danielle Dillard, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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