A 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team Soldier recently returned from Afghanistan after receiving combat related injuries in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. Staff Sgt. Jacob Blair, a squad leader with the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT, 4th Infantry Division, was on patrol when he was injured by small arms fire in July.
Blair originally arrived at Fort Carson in September 2017 and deployed to Afghanistan seven months later. His wife, Isabelle Blair, and children moved to Texas to be closer to Family. Upon learning of his pending return, Blair's wife and children began planning their return to Fort Carson from Odessa, Texas.
Jacob Blair arrived at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, late on the evening of Aug. 17. Leadership, fellow Soldiers and Family members greeted the wounded warrior as he stepped off the C-130 Hercules aeromedical aircraft.
The homecoming was emotional as Isabelle Blair hugged her husband.
"I never wanted to see him hurt like that but what he did while deployed makes me very proud," said Isabelle Blair. "I just didn't know how to hug him."
Because his return was unplanned after being wounded overseas, the Family had to find housing on very short notice.
With the help of brigade and battalion leadership, the Blair Family was offered on-base housing.
"There was a lot of great coordination that happened between the units to get the Family what they needed," said Capt. Jaypatrick Griffith, commander, Headquarters Company, 1st Bn., 38th Inf. Reg.
The brigade and community pulled together to ensure a smooth transition for the Blair Family by helping coordinate housing, moving the Family into their new home and providing meals for the first week.
"From the forward units supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel to the rear-detachment brigade command team, everyone was communicating well," said Griffith.
1st Sgt. Matthew Olsen, rear-detachment command sergeant major, 1st Bn. 38th Inf. Reg., 1st SBCT, wanted the brigade's Families and Soldiers to know that the team at Fort Carson is always available to help them through this deployment and other trying times. Helping the Blair Family provided the command team with a chance to demonstrate this support in a very visible way.
"It was a good opportunity to put words into actions," said Olsen.
The morning following Jacob Blair's return, Soldiers arrived in full force with trucks and trailers to help the Blair Family move items from storage into their new Fort Carson home.
"We are very thankful to have such a great support team here at Fort Carson," said Isabelle Blair. "It would have been 10 times harder to do it all ourselves."
For Jacob Blair, it made a difficult and unexpected return home, easier.
"It's amazing. There are really no words for it," said Jacob Blair. "It just shows how together we are, like a brotherhood. Seeing the unit take care of Soldiers like this is amazing."
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