Deployed soldiers back on home turf. 257 arrive late Wednesday

Sierra Vista Herald ^ | Bill Hess

[SandRat]

FORT HUACHUCA — It was about 9:57 p.m. Wednesday when a Delta commercial jet touched down at Libby Army Airfield.

Inside the plane were 257 soldiers of the 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion returning from a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The plane’s main cabin door door opened at 10:07 p.m. and soon the soldiers began walking down the steps to be greeted by senior post officers and others of the 40th who were on hand to welcome them back to their home turf.

At the bottom of the steps was the commander of the 11th Tactical Theater Signal Brigade — the unit to which the 40th Renegades belong — Col. James Parks, who greeted the returning soldiers.

“I saw them off (on May 4, 2014) and I was going to be here when they came home,” Parks said. He and his wife drove from Fort Hood, Texas, where the brigade headquarters are located.

Also welcoming the 40th back home were Maj. Gen. Robert Ashley, commander of the Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca; Maj. Gen. John Morrison Jr., commander of the Network Enterprise Enterprise Technology Command; and Garrison Commander Col. Thomas Boone.

After shaking hands with a number of people, the returning GIs made their way through a cordon of American flags held by bikers, who have been at every deployment from the fort, as well as the events welcoming them back.

Waiting for the 40th contingent were friends and families who were at Barnes Field House, where after a short ceremony they would wait for the order, “release your units to their families,” signaling the completion of the trip home.

[SandRat]

PHOTOs at http://www.svherald.com/content/bill-hess/2015/02/04/393895

[NFHale]

Welcome Home, folks... God bless.

[machogirl]

Welcome and I hope they ALL returned safely.

[bgill]

Welcome home and thank you.