Central Georgia's 48th Brigade soldiers and their families were honored Saturday at Mercer University's men's home basketball game against Jacksonville University.
The event, sponsored by Mercer University and Central Georgia's Chapter of the American Red Cross, kicked off with a tailgate party including food and entertainment before the game.
With the first group of soldiers in the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade due home next week, Melissa McKenzie says she could feel the excitement at the event.
"It's great to see the light at the end of the tunnel," McKenzie said.
McKenzie's husband, Staff Sergeant Edward McKenzie, is serving in Afghanistan with the 48th Brigade.
She spent the day with son, Hunter Newell, 13, and twin daughters Meaghan and Macie Newell, 9, connecting with other brigade families and enjoying the break from their normal routine.
"It's just a day to have fun," McKenzie said. "It's great to have that feeling of people who understand and are sympathetic of what we're going through."
McKenzie says she and her children count down the days until Edward's return on a picture calendar she made.
"My heart's pounding, I'm ready for my dad to be home with me," Meaghan Newell said.
48th Brigade Major David Casey says the event boosts morale for the soldiers overseas, and the families at home.
"Everybody can get together, kind of take a deep breath and get together and have a good time and they definitely deserve it," Casey said.
Macie Newell says she's proud of her dad, and with him due back soon, she says she knows exactly what she'll do when she sees him again.
"I'm going to give him a big old hug and a kiss," Macie Newell said.
Soldiers with the 118th Field Artillery Regiment in Savannah will return home next week, a National Guard spokesman says.
Major David Casey, of the rear detachment office, says troops with the Macon-based unit will return home in mid-April, and all 48th Brigade troops should be home by May 1.