The 1165th Military Police Company — with members in Brewton and Fairhope — will return from nearly a year of service in Afghanistan, just in time for Christmas.
The company is scheduled to return to Fairhope Friday morning, Dec. 23.
Rose Hall, a member of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce and the Citizens for  Local Troop Support Committee, said the groups want the soldiers to see that they are coming home to the support of the community.
“We have been working with city officials to make this a special occasion for them and their families,” Hall said. “We have had someone step up to offer to pay for buses to bring them from Camp Shelby in Mississippi. We are asking everyone to line the streets leading to the civic center and show their support. The time is a little iffy, but sometime around 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 23, they should arrive.”
While in Afghanistan, the soldiers were assigned to security details. Two Brewton natives received awards earlier this month for actions taken in early August when their team successfully combated an insurgent attack in Kabul.
U.S. Army Spcs. Daniel Fowler and Brandon Hammack helped defeat a multiphased attack in which insurgents used small-arms and improvised explosive devices to attack the British Council Building, a base located in a relatively upscale area of the country’s capital used for education and helping Afghanistan’s civil society groups. Although no U.S. service members were harmed, 12 people died in the attack.
Fowler and Hammac, from the 1165th Military Police Unit assigned to Task Force Yankee in Kabul, received a Joint Service Achievement Medal and a combat action badge.
Brig. Gen. John Hammond presented 10 soldiers with Joint Service Achievement Medals and combat action badges, among other awards.
“I’m extremely proud of the soldiers,” Hammond said. “Our medics responded to the wounded while the remaining soldiers worked toward assisting the Afghan partners and special operations forces in neutralizing the insurgents … they all worked hard and came together extremely well.”