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Louisiana National Guard Troops head home

Hundreds of Louisiana National Guard soldiers deployed in Iraq were in Kuwait on Wednesday as a first stop on the way home, where the majority of their 3,700-member brigade was likely to help with hurricane relief, U.S. military officials said.

The military was also sending advance teams to help members of the Louisiana Guard`s 256th Brigade Combat Team with their families` disaster assistance, as well as 100 military chaplains to counsel the veterans returning to devastation at home.

Nearly 550 of the Louisiana brigade`s troops lost homes or loved ones or were otherwise affected by Hurricane Katrina, said Lt. Col. Debbie Haston-Hilger, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Kuwait. Scores of the soldiers have family members not yet accounted for, she said. The brigade, which served in Baghdad, was coming to the end of its rotation, officials said.