Posted on 07/01/2010 7:44:09 AM PDT by SandRat
Smothered in hugs, Chief Warrant Officer Frank Volpe holds on to his two sons, Hunter and Cody, as his wife, Sarah, buries her head into his.
The chief warrant officer was one of 17 soldiers from Echo Company, Unmanned Aerial Systems Training Battalion on Fort Huachuca to return from a 12-month deployment to Iraq late Tuesday.
(Angela Moncur • Fort Huachuca)
FORT HUACHUCA — First, the 17 soldiers were supposed to be home on Sunday.
Then it was to be Monday
Finally, it was rescheduled for Tuesday.
Well, it was almost Wednesday morning before the soldiers of Echo Company of the Unmanned Aerial Systems Training Battalion walked through the opened doors of a hangar on Libby Army Airfield, culminating their yearlong deployment to Iraq.
Waiting were family members who initially expected them to arrive by 10 p.m. Tuesday. But the commercial flight from the East Coast to Tucson landed 40 minutes late, delaying the welcome-home ceremony until nearly 11:30 p.m. The delay out of Europe was caused by mechanical problems with the commercial contract aircraft, which had to be replaced.
By the time the soldiers arrived on the post, some of the smaller children had fallen asleep and others, including adults, had trouble keeping their eyes open. One, under 5 years old, had worn herself out doing cheerleading routines while singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and later pushing around and around a stroller that held her infant sibling.
Sarah Volpe and sons Hunter, 8, and Cody, 9, waited for Chief Warrant Officer Frank Volpe.
As the small detachment’s family readiness group leader, she said there were relatively few issues she had to address during the deployment.
A couple of wives and their children left the area, but most remained, the former Army specialist said.
The group of soldiers was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Army’s newest unmanned aerial system — the Gray Eagle — and were the first group of the special program to deploy. Other soldiers of the battalion are preparing for similar assignments.
Battalion commander Lt. Col. Patrick Sullivan said the returning unit was relieved in place by other soldiers from the unit on June 20, and plans are being developed to send another group to Afghanistan later this summer.
Sarah Volpe said although the first group of the quick-reaction capability deployment was in Iraq for a year, six months before they left, they were involved in special training, meaning “for most of that period, they were not at home, either.”
The group left on July 5 of last year.
More than once during the wait, mothers could be heard telling anxious children their fathers would be arriving in a short time.
“Soon” was the word most used to the questions of, “When?”
Once the huge hangar doors opened, standing in formation before the waiting families were the returning soldiers.
Even for a small group of slightly more than 50 people in the hangar, the noise of welcoming was loud.
Marching in, the soldiers were formally greeted by Sullivan.
Walking over to a podium, the battalion commander said he knew everyone wanted to go home.
And, within less than a minute, Sullivan said, “Kids, go ahead and assault the formation.”
That’s all it took, as children and adults ran to the soldiers, who were engulfed in hugs, tears, laughter and screams of joy.
Heros bless them all.
Welcome home!!
Stories like this always bring tears to my eyes. Makes me remember the five homecomings I had following deployments on three different Navy ships.
Also reminds me: Military Wife - the toughest job in the Military.
Home-6 the toughest Commander too.
If Mom’s not happy ain’t no one happy.
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