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First 101st Airborned Troops Leave Kuwait For Fort Campbell
CAMP WOLVERINE, Kuwait - The floodgates have opened as the first flights of 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) soldiers left Wednesday and Thursday from the Kuwait City Airport for Fort Campbell, Ky.
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division began arriving at Fort Campbell directly from Mosul earlier this month. Those soldiers were not necessary for the three-day convoys to move their unit's equipment back to Kuwait for shipping home.
The lead elements of the 159th Aviation Regiment, a 101st Airborne unit, are the first to finish processing through Kuwait. The chartered flights were due to arrive home late in the afternoon the day after their flights left Kuwait.
"It's a good break that we've all been waiting for," said Sgt. Ruy Diaz of San Juan, Puerto Rico, 159th Aviation Regiment. "It's awesome."
Diaz, like so many soldiers arriving home after their lengthy combat tours, will be coming home to his spouse and kids. His wife Frances and daughters Coraliz, 7, Anbrea, 5, and Alejandra, 3, have waited for his return since March 1. This week they finally got their wish.
"They bring joy to my life," Diaz said of his family.
The pre-departure was tedious but necessary. Soldiers received briefing after briefing before finally swiping their ID cards and boarding the planes around 1:30 a.m. local time. Col. William T. Harrison, 159th Aviation Regiment commander, made the 45-minute drive from Camp Doha, Kuwait, to the local airport just to send the soldiers off.
"It's been a great honor to serve with you," Harrison said. "Thanks again for everything you've done over here."
For a number of soldiers with the aviation unit, the redeployment culminates their service in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Rob Devlin of Clarksville, Tenn., for example, returned home last year after an eight month tour in Afghanistan - only to be whisked away to Kuwait two weeks later to begin what would be a year long combat tour.
His wife Gaylynn and son Brandon, 10, and daughter Vanessa, 6, have endured nearly two years of Devlin deployments. "Being deployed has made the family stronger and made the time that we spend together that much more important. You kind of take that for granted when you're home all the time."
Release #040124e |
