News On 6's Craig Day, Reagan Ledbetter Returning Home After Meeting With Oklahoma Service Members In Kosovo

Some members of the Oklahoma National Guard are in southeastern Europe on a year-long deployment to Kosovo. The National Guard invited News On 6 to join the soldiers this week to learn more about their mission.

News On 6's Craig Day has the exclusive update as their trip comes to an end:

I'm in downtown Pristina, the capital city of the country of Kosovo. Reagan Leadbetter and I have been here for the last few days. And we've been talking to military personnel from Oklahoma's National Guard who are deployed here for essentially what amounts to a year-long deployment. Three months for training first, and then about a nine-month deployment here in the country.

And of course, they're homesick, they miss their families and their friends. But they are very proud of the work they are doing and very proud of their role on the international stage to bring stability to this part of Europe as a part of that NATO peacekeeping force.

We've been talking to those soldiers and another interesting note, we talked to a gentleman who lived, he's from here from Kosovo. He lived in Oklahoma for 28 years and just recently moved back to Kosovo, and he gives us a really unique perspective on how important it is to have those NATO peacekeepers here and the role that Americans and now Oklahomans are playing in that mission.

So we'll be bringing that to you. As soon as we get back. We've got to fly out Friday morning, from Pristina to Istanbul, Turkey, then from Turkey to Houston, then from Houston to Tulsa. So we've got quite a journey ahead of us, Reagan and I, but we'll keep you posted along the way on social media as well.