Arkansas troops welcomed home from Iraq
Posted on Monday, March 24, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/220735/
LAWTON, Okla. — About 60 soldiers from a Fayettevillebased Army National Guard unit were welcomed home Sunday night in a ceremony at Fort Sill.
The soldiers from the 142 nd Fires Brigade marched into the Rinehart Physical Fitness Center, where between 200 and 300 people waited to greet them. A recording of the University of Arkansas fight song was played over a loud speaker, and the crowd “called the Hogs,” a traditional cheer for Razorbacks fans, said Fort Sill spokesman Emily C. Kelley.
After the national anthem was played, Col. John Uberti briefly addressed the troops, also calling for a round of applause for their families for their selfless sacrifice during the year-long deployment.
“These returning heroes epitomize the definition of citizensoldiers,” Uberti said.
Two soldiers from the Oklahoma Army National Guard’s 168 th Quartermaster Company accompanied the Arkansas troops, and another seven soldiers from the Fort Sill-based Battery H, 26 th Field Artillery were due home shortly before midnight.
With the holiday return, Uberti said, the Easter bunny couldn’t have put anything in children’s Easter baskets that was better than the return of their mother or father.
After being mobilized from Fort Sill, the Arkansas-based troops were sent to Iraq to coordinate additional support from the Air Force or field artillery for troops on the ground, Kelley said.
The troops will be demobilized at Fort Sill, getting health checkups and any assistance needed to reintegrate with their families. Kelley said the process generally takes about a week, but Uberti urged the troops to make sure to get all their needs taken care of before returning to their families.
Kelley said the Fort Sill-based field artillery unit had been serving as radar support, tracking anything fired at U. S. forces.