MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – A small group of Vermont National Guard truck drivers are back in this country after serving a year in Iraq.

The seven truck drivers arrived in Fort Dix, N.J., Monday.

They are expected to return to Vermont this week, possibly on Friday, said Vermont National Guard spokeswoman 1st Lt. Veronica Saffo.

The truck drivers volunteered to support the 744th Transportation Company based in New Hampshire, Saffo said.

They have been transporting supplies between camps and also manning gun trucks leading convoys. “They were the ones in the lead, the ones providing security for the convoys,” said Saffo.

Their return follows a big home coming Monday for the 185 soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the 86th Field Artillery Regiment who spent a year fighting on the ground in Iraq.