25th Sust. Bde. Welcomes Back Deployed Soldiers

By Sgt. Ian Ives, 25th Sustainment Brigade, 25th Infantry Division Public AffairsAugust 25, 2016

25th Sust. Bde. Welcomes Back Deployed Soldiers
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers hold welcome home signs Aug.18, at the welcome ceremony for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 524th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, 25th Sustainment Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, after their return from a 9-month deployment in ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
25th Sust. Bde. Welcomes Back Deployed Soldiers
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 524th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, 25th Sustainment Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, take their first steps back onto American soil Aug. 18, after completing a 9-month deployment in Kuwait... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
25th Sust. Bde. Welcomes Back Deployed Soldiers
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Family members hold a welcome home sign Aug. 18, at the welcome ceremony for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 524th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, 25th Sustainment Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, after their return from a 9-month deploy... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
25th Sust. Bde. Welcomes Back Deployed Soldiers
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Bradley May, the executive officer for 524th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, 25th Sustainment Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, holds his son for the first time in 9-months Aug. 18, after returning home from his deployment in Kuwait. While ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii -- Despite the mist and cloudy weather only looks of anticipation and happiness could be seen within the crowd gathered at Weyland Field. This was the day they had been waiting 9-months for. At the end of a short welcome home ceremony the field was flooded by Families and Soldiers alike who ran toward their loved ones. Children screamed with joy as they re-united with their Sustainer parents, Aug. 18, for the first time since they deployed to Kuwait with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 524th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, 25th Sustainment Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.

A group of 63 Soldiers from HHC, 524th CSSB, deployed for 9-months to Camp Buehring, Kuwait, last December to sustain and support forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait.

"I'm set up so that companies within my battalion at Schofield can unplug and fall in another formation," said Lt. Col. Toby Logsdon, the battalion commander of 524th CSSB. "I fell in with Guard and Reserve forces while I was in Kuwait and active-duty force from all over the continental United States."

Deployments where a small unit deploys to support a larger unit or an entire region is exactly how the 25th Sustainment Brigade operates. Despite only having one company in country, these Sustainers accomplished many things while deployed. The unit drove over 2.3 million miles of ground transportation missions, sailed almost 45,000 nautical miles, provided 15 million gallons of fuel, repaired 3,800 containers and supplied friendly forces with over 100 million rounds of ammunition. One mission even required a noncommissioned officer to travel into another country to complete.

"I was sent to Iraq to fix some equipment that had been down for a long time," said Sgt. Danny Kintchen, a Soldier with HHC, 524th CSSB. " The commander trusted me to go and get that job done."

Not only did Soldiers excel at accomplishing the units mission, but were able to make good use of their down time to break up the monotony of deployment.

"This deployment helped me improve myself both professionally and personally," said Spc. Yessenia Galindo. "I went to school, got my promotable status, a 300 PT score and went to a Soldier of the month board. I feel like I was able to accomplish a lot."

Deployments are often a burden, but when Soldiers take the opportunity they can accomplish great things while fulfilling their mission.

"Being deployed for the third time… It helped me grow," said Kintchen. "I feel more appreciative of what I have now that I am back home. Soldiers should use experiences like this deployment to become better Soldiers and better people."

(Editor's note: William Cole, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, contributed to this report.)