FORT SILL, Okla., July 28, 2016 -- It was a hot, sunny morning at Fort Sill when 290 Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery disembarked the buses that brought them to the Rinehart Fitness Center on July 24. Inside, their families and friends gathered in the gym to welcome them home from deployment to Kuwait. A year had passed since they left. For spouses and children, a welcome home ceremony was all that stood between them and holding their loved ones.
The 88 degree temperature outside may have been a welcome contrast to the Soldiers gathered outside, waiting to make their grand entrance. After all, Kuwait summers often top 120 degrees. They didn't wait for long.
As the 77th Army Band played "Host of Freedom" composed by Karl King, they marched in, led by battalion commander Lt. Col. Timothy Woodruff. Facing the huge American flag hung from the stage, they looked straight ahead while family members tried to pick out their Soldiers among the ranks. The unit colors were uncased, the battle streamers arrayed in a loose formation of their own, and the colors raised once again on home turf.
Chap. (Capt.) Ronel Estorgio of 31st ADA brigade gave the invocation, and Col. Kevin Ciocca, 31st ADA Brigade commander, spoke to the gathering, which included the new commanding general of the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill, Maj. Gen. Brian McKiernan, and the new garrison commander, Col. Samuel Curtis.
Ciocca thanked the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 751, for attending the re-deployment. "They were at every single ceremony when we sent Soldiers off, and when these Soldiers come home."
The 460-member "I Strike Battalion" left home on July 15, 2015, to provide air and missile defense operations in support of the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The unit is responsible for the Patriot missile system, and for about half of them, it was their first deployment. The first wave of 180 4-3rd ADA Soldiers returned to a similar welcome July 19.
Ciocca praised them for "selfless service, your sacrifice, your commitment in very tough conditions and an equally tough operating environment." He said the day they left Kuwait might top the record of "the hottest temperatures ever recorded on the planet." (It was 129.3 degrees Fahrenheit.) He asked the Soldiers to give a round of applause for their families who "have sacrificed along with you this past 12 months."
After Woodruff had been reunited with his own family, he spoke to media. "Our mission is to provide theater ballistic missile defense and air-breathing threat defense against any potential enemies of the United States of America," he said. "As much as these Soldiers would like to just go home and curl up and have a nap or have a nice meal, I think it really touches their hearts to see their community, their family and the military leadership come out and thank them."
This was Woodruff's fourth deployment. "Hopefully we've laid the foundation for success so that any unit that should come in behind us will follow in our legacy and what we were able to establish and improve for the future units that come in behind them."
Spc. Johnathan Hardey, a 14E air defense Patriot maintenance officer in B Battery, saw his 7-month old daughter Ava Marie, for the first time since his two-week leave after she was born Dec. 24. "My wife ran up and started hugging me," he said of the greeting he received. "I had no idea where she was at."
Spouses and friends helped their Soldiers carry duffel bags and luggage from the staging area in the parking lot, where it had been arrayed in a military-style formation. Soon the area was nearly cleared when three Soldiers were about to leave.
They had no relatives on hand to greet them, but they were just as happy to be back. Spc. Kenneth James, a human resources specialist, came back two weeks earlier and was on hand to greet his cousin, Spc. Mekhi Abramson, a networking operator. Both are from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Abramson said he will go home next month. He missed "simple things like fresh air, the cool breeze." It was nearly 90 degrees at 11 a.m. and they all agreed it was cool compared to the weather they experienced in the Kuwait desert.
Spc. Rashad Whitfield, a unit supply specialist from Chester, Va. also missed simple things like taking a proper shower, and being free to travel outside a limited area. The men had visited a mosque in Kuwait, which James said was beautiful. Abramson added, "It's very sacred, very expensive, with a lot of gold."
One of the highlights of their year was that their battalion won the basketball and softball championships for 2015-16, said Abramson. Others were the celebrity visits by an NFL star, Miss America, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
They said they were glad to be home. James said he'll finally get to see his "baby" his girlfriend, "soon to be wife." The twinkle in his eye and the smile on his face said it all.
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