Army National Guard Capt. Joseph C. Nefflen has returned to the U.S. after being deployed overseas at a forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Operation Iraqi Freedom is the official name given to military operations involving members of the U.S. armed forces and coalition forces participating in efforts to free and secure Iraq. Mission objectives focus on force protection, peacekeeping, stabilization, security and counter-insurgency operations as the Iraqi transitional governing bodies assume full sovereign powers to govern the peoples of Iraq.

Members from all branches of the U.S. military and multinational forces are also assisting in rebuilding Iraq's economic and governmental infrastructure, and training and preparing Iraqi military and security forces to assume full authority and responsibility in defending and preserving Iraq's sovereignty and independence as a democracy.

Nefflen, a cavalry officer, is a member of the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 104th Cavalry, Annville, Pa. He has served in the military for 12 years. He is the son of George W. Nefflen of Elkins. His wife, Katie, is the daughter of Larry and Patty Jones of Sullivan Road, Westminster, Md. The captain received a bachelor's degree in 1994 from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and earned a master's degree in 2001 from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va.