INDIANAPOLIS – About 70 members of an Indiana National Guard unit are back in the state after being deployed to Afghanistan for about nine months.

The soldiers from the Indianapolis-based 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were reunited with their families Tuesday night at Stout Field in Indianapolis. Officials say the unit oversaw more than 5,000 coalition security forces during its deployment that started in March.

Spc. Stephen Mann rushed to hold his infant daughter Ariana who was born while he was overseas. Mann tells WRTV that he was able to often see his daughter over the Internet, but it was awesome to hold her for the first time.