106th Aviation Regiment returns from Kosovo

Includes two soldiers from Logan County

[March 07, 2009]  SPRINGFIELD -- There will be a welcome home Saturday for approximately 150 members from Illinois Army National Guard's 106th Aviation Regiment, returning from deployment in Kosovo. Soldiers from the 106th Aviation companies in Peoria, Decatur and Chicago, as well as two of our own from Logan County -- David Last and James Cosby -- were mobilized in March 2008 as part of Kosovo Force 10.

CW-4 David Last flies Black Hawk helicopters and is the battalion safety officer. He has been in the armed forces for over 30 years and has been a pilot for most of those. David is married to Debra and is the son of Doris and the late Dana Last of Hartsburg. He has two daughters, Carrie, a senior at ISU, and Bethany, a sophomore at LCHS. Last spent all of 2004 in Iraq with the 106th.

Cosby is a recent graduate of Lincoln Community High School.

The Illinois Army National Guard sent soldiers to Kosovo as part of Task Force Blackhorse, which is an element of Task Force Falcon. The task force was one of five multinational brigade-sized elements that made up the NATO-led force providing security and stability to Kosovo. KFOR10 is a task force comprised of approximately 1,600 people who conduct peace enforcement operations.

During its deployment, Task Force Blackhorse flew more than 430 accident-free missions, including 282 air movement missions, 92 reconnaissance missions and 37 medevac missions. Additionally, the soldiers assisted the people of Kosovo by adopting five schools and two homeless shelters.

The soldiers and aircraft from the 106th Aviation returned from Kosovo on Wednesday. The service members are expected to leave Camp Atterbury, Ind., Saturday morning and arrive at three separate locations around 9 a.m. for brief ceremonies. The ceremonies will be at the Peoria Aviation Facility, 2323 Airport Road; Decatur Armory, 5550 Ocean Trail Road; and Midway Airport in Chicago.

[Text from file from the Illinois Army National Guard]