In the two-year war on terror, no Georgia National Guard unit has been on the front lines longer than Brunswick's 224th Joint Communications Support Squadron. That mission came to an end earlier this month when the 235-member unit was demobilized and removed from active-duty status.

Among the families, friends and fellow airmen who congratulated the unit for a job "well done," was Maj. Gen. William N. Searcy, commander Georgia Air National Guard. Also present was Brig. Gen. Walter I. Jones, director of Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems for Joint Forces Command, and Col. James A. Lien, commander of the Joint Communications Support Element.

The 224th JCSS was called to duty in the aftermath of the Sept, 11, 2001, terrorists attack . It has remained on active duty for more than two years. The unit’s demobilization ends one of the longest mobilizations of any National Guard unit in America's armed forces since September 2001.

Georgia's 224th was continuously deployed throughout southwest Asia while on active duty. The unit was the first Georgia National Guard unit called up, and it was among the first military units to deploy to the Middle East.

The 224th is designated by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a "high value asset" that provides joint task forces and joint special operations task forces with command and control, communications and computer systems support in the battlefield. It is one of four joint communications support squadrons in the nation, two of which are Air National Guard units.

In two major deployments, with more than 75 Guardsmen each, the unit deployed for more than 24 months to Southwest Asia where it supported Special Operations Command Central and Central Command. Of the more than 200 Guardsmen in the unit, many have served overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and later Iraqi Freedom.