Posted on 07/06/2006 6:27:37 PM PDT by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA — Lena Cowboy, her daughter Christina and grandson Ethan drove Wednesday from the northern Four Corners-area community of Kayenta to this part of Southern Arizona.
The hours on the road were worth it. Her daughter, Staff Sgt. Lisa Cowboy, was returning from a year assignment in Iraq.
Lisa also traveled by road from Fort Bliss, Texas, for the reunion.
Sitting in the Eifler Gym, Lena waited for the buses carrying her daughter and 25 other returning soldiers to arrive. The two buses were escorted on post by American Legion Riders, a group of local motorcyclists.
The arrival time was first 6 p.m., then 6:30 p.m. Another hour went by until Lisa marched into the gym with the soldiers of Company A, 40th Signal Battalion.
Cheers and a standing ovation greeted the soldiers, who among their number was one from the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command.
Dorothy Yazzie, Lisa’s mother-in-law, who also drove down from northern Arizona, sat next to Lena in the bleachers.
For her, the homecoming isn’t complete.
Her son, Staff Sgt. Derek Yazzie, is still in Iraq and not expected to return until late September or early October.
For all the women, the family is not complete until Derek returns home.
For 4-year-old Ethan, the noise in the gym, especially the music from the 36th U.S. Army Band, echoing off the ceilings and walls was too loud and Christina had to take him outside, causing him to miss his mother’s arrival.
The 40th’s commander, Lt. Col. Linda Jantzen, said, “A Company forward, welcome home,” which set off another round of cheers and applause.
During the unit’s year in Iraq, the soldiers provided a number of communication technical control centers, she said.
“You left as a team and you brought everyone back safe,” Jantzen said.
For Lt. Col. Andr/ Wiley, deputy commander of the 11th Signal Brigade, to which the 40th belongs, the action of the deployed soldiers was a job well done.
“Welcome back gators,” he said, using the nickname of the 40th.
Col. Joe Garnes, assistant chief of staff for logistics, stood in for the commander of NETCOM. He told the soldiers they should be proud of their work in Iraq.
Beside the three technical control facilities, which the company operated at widely dispersed forward operating bases in south central Iraq, they also provided voice and data capabilities to a number of users.
The company also installed communications to 20 new facilities as well as installed more than 15 miles of fiber optic cable.
The soldiers also conducted 40-plus convoys, traveling over more than 1,800 miles of dangerous roads.
“You left as a team, worked as a team and returned as a team,” Garnes said.
But concern must continue for those who remain in harm’s way, he said.
Deployments are a sacrifice for soldiers, as well as their families and friends, the colonel said.
NETCOM has 3,000 soldiers and civilians deployed to hostile areas, Garnes said.
The return of fellow GIs is always on the mind of soldiers, families and friends.
For Lisa, Lena and Dorothy, their thoughts are with Derek.
“I wish he had come home, too,” Dorothy said about her son.
Knowing her daughter was home is comfort for Lena, but she nodded her head in agreement with Dorothy and when he returns in a few months, she will be at the fort to welcome her son-in-law home, as Dorothy did her daughter-in-law.
As for Lisa, she wants the time to go by fast so she, her son and other family members can reunite with Derek. “Hopefully, he’s not too far behind me,” she said.
herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
Welcome home, soldiers, and God Bless!!
Man SandRat -- what a GREAT picture and a terrific story! Welcome home, heroes!!
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