Chanda Stelter never thought she'd have Faith without Shawn.

But she did.

And she does.

Faith Stelter was born last June. Her dad wasn't there. He still isn't. He was gone, unavoidably detained on the other side of the world. His wife had Faith without him.

And faith he'd return safely to them.

Tonight, he will.

Sgt. Shawn Stelter will be one of 170 soldiers to walk off a chartered plane at 7:15 p.m. today at the Bismarck Airport. The flight will have originated from Missouri, a place called Fort Leonard Wood.

Today, the 957th Multi Role Bridge Company comes home.

"We're so excited," Chanda Stelter said. "Faith has her sign ready for daddy."

The Bismarck-based National Guard unit was mobilized for the war in Iraq on Feb. 10 of last year. Two days later, the unit left North Dakota for Fort Leonard Wood. It deployed to Iraq that April, when Chanda Stelter was seven months pregnant.

A year later, the 957th has returned to the United States. It landed Tuesday in Missouri and has spent the past five days transitioning from active duty back to Guard status.

"Shawn called me three times on Wednesday night," Chanda Stelter said. "I don't remember the last time we've been able to do that."

Shawn Stelter was able to get home last fall on a two-week recreational leave. He surprised his wife by showing up on Thanksgiving, and met his 6-month-old daughter.

"Now he'll come home to a baby who's 10 months old, walking and saying 'Da-da,'" Chanda Stelter said.

The majority of the soldiers in the 957th are from the Bismarck-Mandan area. The communities are very ready to welcome their soldiers home.

Once they land, the troops will be taken by buses to the Raymond J. Bohn Armory, in northeast Bismarck. The Guard has released the route and hopes as many people as possible will line the roadway between the airport and the armory.

The buses will travel from University Drive to Airport Road, then east on Bismarck Expressway to East Divide Avenue. The public is invited to bring plenty of flags and yellow ribbons, Guard spokesman Rob Keller said.

The homecoming will be joyous for many, including the Stelters.

But it's bittersweet. Or for some, sad. Three families won't be able to welcome back their soldiers. Spc. Jon Fettig, Dickinson, Staff Sgt. Kenneth Hendrickson, Bismarck, and Sgt. Keith Smette, Makoti, died in combat in Iraq. Four others - Sgt. Shaun Aarhus, Sgt. Brett Heinen, Sgt. Brandon Erickson and Spc. Jonathan Sigl, all from Bismarck - were wounded in action.

The waving flags along the bus route tonight will serve as a reminder of what they sacrificed so much for.

More than 1,800 soldiers from the North Dakota Army National Guard were mobilized, including 479 from the Valley City-based 141st Engineer Battalion, which is currently in Iraq. More than 630 soldiers from the Fargo-based 142nd Engineer Battalion returned from Iraq last month.

While in Iraq, members of the 957th transported people and supplies and performed security patrols on jet boats in the Euphrates River.

Today they begin using their annual leave and readjusting to life as civilians. Time to get back to family, back to work.

Time for Shawn Stelter, finally, to have Faith every day.

(Reach Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tspilde@ndonline.com.)