SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP): The mayor of South Bend is back in the city after a seven-month military deployment to Afghanistan.
 
Dozens of people applauded as a fatigue-wearing Mayor Pete Buttigieg arrived in the South Bend International Airport passenger terminal Thursday night.
 
Buttigieg told the crowd he appreciated the welcoming crowd and that it reminded him of the many troops who've come home killed or wounded during the war.
 
The 32-year-old Democrat was elected mayor in 2011. He is a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve and served during his deployment as an intelligence officer, focusing on the interaction of drugs, financing and terrorism.
 
Buttigieg says he expects he'll return to the mayor's office Oct. 6 after finishing the final administrative steps of his deployment next week.