Illinois Army National Guard Cpl. Briar Ricketts holds his 3-year-old son, Maverick Ricketts, and kisses his mother, Elizabeth Ricketts, as his friend, Emma Lacey, looks on after Cpl. Ricketts returned to Illinois. The Ricketts family was re-united after 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 Master Sgt Shelly Stark, 183rd Wing, Illinois Air National Guard)
| Date Taken: | 02.07.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2026 16:20 |
| Photo ID: | 9512857 |
| VIRIN: | 260207-Z-QQ879-2182 |
| Resolution: | 6731x5385 |
| Size: | 1.99 MB |
| Location: | SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 0 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Illinois Army National Guard Engineer Soldiers Return from Middle East Deployment [Image 31 of 31], by MSgt Shelly A Stark, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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