PORTLAND – A dozen Maine servicemen are looking forward to a Fourth of July homecoming.

The 12 members of the 265th Combat Communications Squad will be returning home from the Middle East on Friday.

The group represents the second wave of Maine Air National Guardsmen, who are returning from a tour in Kuwait and Iraq. The first group arrived home a few weeks ago.

The group left Maine on Feb. 21 for a planned 90-day tour in Kuwait. Their tour was extended by about five weeks after war broke out in Iraq.

They were assigned to Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait and locations in southern Iraq supporting communications requirement for the command structure at those bases.

The unit is capable of installing and operating communications systems from hand-held radios to microwave and multichannel satellite systems. They maintain switching equipment for telephones, Internet connections and secure communications systems.

The remaining three members of the unit who are still in Kuwait and Iraq are scheduled to return to Maine in August.