More Than 300 Troops

Return to Fort Hood

By Amanda Kim Stairrett

Killeen Daily Herald

December 1, 2007

FORT HOOD – Once children discovered the mist had turned the big patch on the 1st Cavalry Division's parade field into a skating rink, there was no stopping them.

The giant concrete slab painted to look like a 1st Cavalry patch was extra slick and hard to resist for the restless children who were waiting for their parents to return home on Friday after 15 months in Iraq. More than 300 soldiers from the division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team returned to Fort Hood that day.

Pfc. Jeremy Waite stood by the edge of the patch and kept watch over the sliding and spinning children. While his uniform and crossed arms may have been intimidating, his kind smile wasn't.

He crouched down to chat and would speak up with, "Be careful!" every now and then. When he turned his back, those previously deterred by his presence fled to the patch.

Waite is just one of many whose presence at 1st Cavalry homecoming ceremonies is a staple. He is an infantryman who arrived at Fort Hood just six weeks ago, and serves as an usher at the ceremonies. There are other soldiers serving as ushers who help with crowd control: soldiers who unload the returning troops' baggage in a large tent nearby; an announcer, the Voice of the 1st Cavalry Division; family readiness group and rear detachment leaders; riders from the Horse Cavalry Detachment; an Honor Guard; DJ Tony; members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart; and Col. Larry Phelps, the rear detachment commander who sometimes entertains the crowd with his dance moves.

Soldiers are coming back at a steady pace, meaning these people attend and run ceremonies constantly – sometimes three or four in a day.

Waite is part of a 30-soldier unit from the division's Commandant's Office that is at each and every homecoming, no matter if it's 3 a.m. or 3 p.m., said Sgt. 1st Class Robert Bussell, who leads the office. Those soldiers do everything from organizing the buses that carry returning soldiers from Robert Gray Army Airfield to the parade field to cleaning up after the ceremonies. The Honor Guard is also part of the Commandant's Office.

The rear detachment Honor Guard is made up of a group of soldiers who carry the American flag, Army flag and division flag. Pfc. Wrineo Salazar carried the 40-pound Army flag at Friday's ceremony. It's so heavy because battle streamers from each campaign American soldiers have participated in are attached at the very top. The honor guard was at the airfield when every soldier deployed and they are at the airfield and parade field when each returns.

It is difficult for their families sometimes to deal with such an erratic schedule, said Cpl. Andrew Hill, but it's something they're willing to do.

"We're soldiers, we're used to it," said Spc. Sean Conrell.

The returning soldiers have spent more than a year in Iraq and sacrificed a whole lot, Hill said, so attending these ceremonies is the least they can do.

The Honor Guard soldiers wear traditional cavalry uniforms from the 1800s and also attend other ceremonies and events on post and in local communities. The public often confuses them with riders from the Horse Cavalry Detachment, something they are quick to point out isn't true.

During the homecoming ceremonies, three soldiers carrying the flags and two carrying sabers lead the formation of returning soldiers out onto the parade field toward their waiting loved ones.

But it's not just soldiers who are present. April O'Neill, a Family Readiness Support Assistant for the 3rd Brigade's Special Troops Battalion, attends every homecoming ceremony. The division, each brigade and battalion have assistants, who are paid to provide administrative support for family readiness groups. They serve as liaisons between the groups and rear detachment, distributing information about resources on post and in the local communities, O'Neill said.

At the ceremonies, O'Neill greets families and gives them the status of their soldiers' returns. On Friday, she handed out small American flags for loved ones to wave.

Like her, most of the assistants are spouses of 1st Cavalry soldiers. O'Neill's husband, Sgt. Mike O'Neill, is set to return home next week. She'll continue to attend the ceremonies even after he husband comes home. His homecoming is even more special because their third child – a boy – is due on Jan 29.

Killeen Daily Herald

Joy of hoomecoming mingles with memories of lost comrads and nervousness of rebuilding family ties.

By Robert W. Gee

Saturday, December 01, 2007

FORT HOOD — It was a day 14 months in the making.

Ever since these soldiers left for war, they envisioned this moment. Maybe those in the stands, left to worry and pray for their safe return, anticipated it even more.

And here it was, 308 soldiers in formation before bleachers packed with their families and friends, and a banner declaring, "WELCOME HOME HEROES!!!"

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division arrived at Fort Hood on Friday afternoon after a 21-hour, three-leg trip from Kuwait and a six-day journey from their base in northern Iraq.

Pfc. Michael Strausbaugh saw his wife, Shawna, rocking their 6-week-old baby son, Brayden, whom he had yet to meet. She was crying.

They met in a flurry of hugs and kisses on the parade field in front of 1st Cavalry headquarters.

"I'm so happy that he's home. I'm not complete without him," she said. "I'm glad that he's home so I can be my own person again."

She admitted to "lots of butterflies." They were wed in January and he deployed four months later.

Capt. Clay Combs of Houston was hugging his 3-year-old daughter, Kayla, tears streaming down his face.

"It's just real," he said of being home. "For so long you're in harm's way and finally you're with the people you're fighting for."

Combs said he had spent more than half of his daughter's life apart from her, on deployments to Iraq.

The homecoming was also bittersweet for the battalion, which suffered 28 combat deaths. Many soldiers Friday wore black metal bracelets inscribed with the names of lost comrades and the dates and places of their deaths.

In Kuwait, hours before the flight home, Sgt. James Green, 26, of Texarkana, said, "It's weird not going back with those guys. You thought you'd be partying with them (back home), but now they're not here."

He and several fellow soldiers plan to visit the mother of one their fallen comrades on an upcoming weekend.

Katie Shaffer's husband, Sgt. Jason Shaffer, was killed April 5 by an improvised explosive device. She traveled from Hood River, Ore., to attend Friday's ceremony in search of closure, she said, but found herself looking for her slain husband in the throng of soldiers on the field.

"I wasn't going to miss it because I made a promise to him and his men that I was going to be here," she said, fighting tears. "I just wish he was here so I could welcome him home. ... To see them all coming off the bus, I really wanted him to be here."

She spoke as the field was suddenly emptied, families having quickly reunited and loaded Army duffel bags and rucksacks into waiting cars.

Soldiers were off to long-awaited American showers, their first beer — some said their loved ones brought coolers of beer in their cars — and their first American meal in more than a year.

Many said they planned to grill steaks Friday night. (Iraq's mess halls offered boiled, tasteless beef.)

Just after the plane had touched down at Fort Hood, the charter jet's pilot announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, once again, welcome to the United States of America."

Cheers followed.

"We made it!" Spc. Jason Dawson, 27, said.

Sgt. Robert Mitchell, 35, sitting across the aisle, said, "We're home, baby, we're home."

Many soldiers said it would take days, if not weeks, to adjust to family life again.

"I'm nervous. It's like another first date," Sgt. Eric Chappell said of seeing his wife again. The deployment was the longest they had been apart in 13 years of marriage.

Others said they feared their young children wouldn't recognize them. "I'm very scared," said Sgt. Juan DeJesus. "I barely know my daughter because of the Army." She was 4 months old when he left 14 months ago.

Spc. Brandon Linerud, 25, said he'll see his son, 5, and daughter, 4, in Modesto, Calif., during a month long leave in December.

"The same bond we had won't be there. It's going to take time. I know it's going to take time," he said.

Through difficult times fighting and living together, the soldiers said they had changed. Some suffer from nightmares, replaying gory scenes from Iraq. Their commanders have recommended all of the soldiers seek counseling to heal psychological scars.

For the moment, soldiers looked forward to celebrations — some said they were headed immediately to Austin's Sixth Street.

And they will spend some of the hazardous duty pay they accumulated during their deployment.

Many planned new tattoos; some said they would buy motorcycles or new detailing for their cars.

Sgt. Justin Jones of Mansfield said he was going to buy a pool table. "I talked my wife into it," he said. "She just doesn't know it's going in the living room."

bgee@coxnews.com.

Statesman.com