UPDATE: More than 200 Guard members back from Mideast

SOUTH BURLINGTON - The passenger jet landed at the airport at 6 p.m., carrying more than 200 members of the Vermont Air National Guard home after three months in the Middle East.

They disembarked after their long flight—the airmen flew directly from the Mideast—and were greeted on the tarmac by Gov. Phil Scott, Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, and other officials. But the real enthusiastic greeting came shortly after, when they were bused over to the waiting masses of family and loved ones.

Screams and cheers broke out in the waiting crowd of hundreds as the first buses pulled up. Tears and hugs were in abundance.

"I'm just elated," said Casie Adams, who held her 1-year-old and a sign that said "Mommy's been a handful!"

Her husband, Tech Sgt. Zachary Adams held the couple's 3-year-old son tightly in his arms. Casie Adams said she and her son had been counting down the days until the homecoming, making a paper chain with a link for each day and tearing off the links.

Nearby, Senior Master Sgt. Steve Vincent said that while this wasn't his first deployment, it may have been the hardest, especially on his daughter.

"I'm so happy to be here," he said, tears in his eyes.

The airmen were deployed to the Middle East to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria in December, weeks before the holidays.

Some of the airmen, like Senior Airman Leeann Leclair, planned to hold second Christmases with their families in the coming weeks.

Going from a stay-at-home-mom to being away from her family in the Middle East for three months was stressful, she said.

Crew Chief Robert Shay said the airmen were expecting to be deployed around three to four months. The deployment went smoothly, he added.

"Everyone kept a good head on their shoulders," he said.

The first of nine F-16 fighter jets landed Wednesday at the Vermont Air National Guard base at Burlington International Airport, marking the end of three months overseas after battling the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Guard F-16 pilots engaged in combat with precision-guided bombs and 20 mm cannon. The rest of the airmen worked in support roles, such as maintenance, munitions and intelligence, Guard commanders said Wednesday.

None of the Vermonters ran into trouble,  Col. Patrick Guinee, commander of the 158th Fighter Wing, said Wednesday.

Vermonters have been involved in battles for Mosul since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. Two soldiers with Vermont ties have been killed there.

Contact Jess Aloe at 802-660-1874 or jaloe@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @jess_aloe