CHANDLER - A Brownsboro High School graduate returned from a tour in Afghanistan to share some of his experiences Friday with third-graders at Chandler Elementary School.

Capt. Joshua Phillips, 27, of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) showed images of his work as an aircraft maintainer and Blackhawk pilot, talked about the Afghan geography, and explained how he adjusted to life there.

"I spent the last year in Afghanistan, stationed in Bagram," he said. "I did maintenance on all 90 aircraft in a brigade and also flew combat missions. It’s a very noble job."

After reading to students and answering their questions, Phillips stepped outside the classroom to describe in detail his time in Afghanistan.

"My team consisted of about 80 aircraft maintainers and we turned approximately 40 scheduled phase inspections on the aircraft," he said. "When I wasn’t managing maintenance, I provided quick-reaction force aerial coverage in a UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter. We provided support to the ground units in a quick manner when there were no other aerial recourses available."

Phillips graduated from Brownsboro High in 2001 and from Texas A&M University four years later with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science. He enlisted with the National Guard as a junior at BHS and joined active duty in 2005 as a commissioned officer.

"This is my generation’s fight, so to speak. I want to say I participated in helping the United States in the war on terror."

Phillips returned to his home base of Fort Campbell, Ky., on Nov. 27 and arrived in Texas on Dec. 17. He is scheduled to return to base on Sunday.

"From here, I will go back to Fort Campbell until June and then I’ll be attending Captain’s Career Course at Fort Rucker."

In Afghanistan, Phillips spent a year flying combat missions when he wasn’t working on aircraft in the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade. Days were long and nights were short.

"Mostly, the work of the day was typical to what we do every day when we are at home," he said. "However, the days can typically be longer, working into the late hours of the night in which you would just return to your room to get some rest before you had to get up and do it all over the next day.

"We lived in very tight quarters called b-huts, which were plywood-constructed shacks."

Six to eight rooms were in each hut, Phillips said, so it was possible to get "a little privacy now and then."

"Living and working with your guys day in and day out, every day, for an entire year definitely brings you closer together and you become much like a family," he said. "For the year that you are there, in fact, they are your only family. You have to lean on your brothers for support to help each other make it back home safely."

And that’s exactly what happened. Phillips’ mother, Paula Phillips, teaches the third-grade class at Chandler Elementary that welcomed the captain home Friday. Wearing his U.S. Army uniform, he walked in to children’s smiles and waves, hugs from relatives and school faculty, and handshakes from others.

"Being gone for a year is extremely draining," he said. "It’s good to come back. You learn it’s the small things you miss, and I haven’t seen my brother since Christmas 2006."

Stationed in San Diego, Jordan Phillips, 22, is an engineman on the USS Comstock. He and his brother were reunited last weekend.

"It has been tough for me and my brother to actively serve at the same time," the captain said. "There are many times when I am home and he is deployed, and when he is home I am deployed.

The Afghan mountains "However, for this last rotation he and I were both deployed at the same time - not to mention we are stationed so far away. So it makes it hard to see each other often. E-mail and phone calls are about the only way to stay in touch."

Joshua Phillips is a distance graduate student at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He’s working on an MBA in finance.

To learn more about Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division, visit www.campbell.army.mil.

The USS Comstock’s Web site is www.comstock.navy.mil.