FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Family Members, friends and fellow Soldiers gathered Thursday at Monti Physical Fitness Center to welcome home 100 Soldiers from 10th Sustainment Brigade Troops Battalion from their yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.
"You all have done tremendous work," said Maj. Gen. Mark A. Milley, Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division (LI) commander. "There isn't a single Soldier in Regional Command East who would have had one single round of ammunition, one meal, one ounce of water or any other logistical support if it wasn't for these Soldiers that you see in front of you today."
The brigade's mission while in Afghanistan was to provide Regional Command East and Regional Command North with logistical support. During the Soldiers' yearlong deployment, they conducted multiple operations in support of 30 brigade task forces, for more than 5,000 specific missions, and drove more than 250,000 miles through hostile terrain and enemy territory.
Welcoming their heroes home were hundreds of cheering Family Members, friends and Soldiers.
"I'm so excited and nervous," said Nicole Wardrop, wife of Pfc. Christopher Wardrop, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with 514th Support Maintenance Company, 10th Sustainment Brigade Troops Battalion.
"At the beginning of the deployment, it was very hard," she added, "but as time went by and we could talk and Skype on a regular basis, things got a little easier then."
Wardrop's son, Braden, was born on June 10, and his father saw him for the first time after the ceremony.
"My son is awesome!" Wardrop exclaimed as he embraced his 3-month-old. "It feels great to be back home with my Family."
Not every Soldier had Family Members waiting for them at the fitness center, but they had peers and friends who came to give them a hero's welcome.
Such was the case with Sgt. Joseph Moffitt, a motor transport operator assigned to 110th Transportation Company, 548th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade. Moffitt was welcomed home by his friend, Spc. Augusto McKenzie, also an 88M, assigned to 110th Transportation Company.
McKenzie returned from Afghanistan early because his Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle rolled over three times after encountering an improvised explosive device.
"I'm happy to be back," Moffitt said. "Being welcomed home by McKenzie makes it even that much special."
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