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English: Family and friends of the 878th Engineer Battalion are seeing their Georgia Guardsman for the first time in nearly a year at the Armory in Augusta Saturday night. The 878th protected coalition forces and Afghan civilians by conducting route clearance operations in Southern Afghanistan designed to locate and disarm potential explosive devices. These operations are critical to provide assured mobility for coalition forces including Afghanistan Security Forces. The Augusta-based 878th Engineer Battalion is part of the Columbus-based 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. The Georgia Army National Guard consists of more than 11,100 citizen-soldiers training in more than 57 hometown armories and regional facilities across the state. Georgia’s Army Guard is the eighth largest in the nation, and includes combat, combat support and combat service support units. The Georgia Army National Guard is organized into six major subordinate commands: the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Macon; the 78th Troop Command, the 78th Aviation Troop Command and 201st Regional Support Command at Clay National Guard Center in Marietta; the Cumming based 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade; and the 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Columbus at Fort Benning. (Georgia Army National Guard photo by Maj. Will Cox | Released)