Raider Brigade Soldiers return home from Korea

By Spc. Jason GreavesOctober 9, 2018

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team soldiers come home
1 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Gen. Lee Quintas, 3rd Infantry Division Commanding General, and Soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3ID, salute the flag during a homecoming ceremony at Cottrell Field, Fort Stewart, Ga., Oct. 2, 2018. While in South Korea,... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Armored Brigade Combat Team soldiers come home
2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Gen. Lee Quintas, 3rd Infantry Division commanding general welcomes home a Soldier from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3ID, at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., Oct. 2, 2018. This rotation to South Korea marks the first time since the Korean War ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Armored Brigade Combat Team soldiers come home
3 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Cianna Warren, a military spouse, welcomes home her husband, Spc. Warren Bailey, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Cottrell Field, Fort Stewart, Ga., October 2, 2018. (U.S. Ar... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Armored Brigade Combat Team soldiers come home
4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Capt. Miclos St Fleur, an air defense artillery officer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, is welcomed home by Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Barnes, 1ABCT rear detachment command serg... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Armored Brigade Combat Team soldiers come home
5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, arrive at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., Oct. 2, 2018 after a 9 month deployment to South Korea. The brigade was part of a regular rotation of forces supporting the 2nd Infa... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Armored Brigade Combat Team soldiers come home
6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Family and friends of 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers gather at Cottrell Field, Ft. Stewart, Ga., Oct. 2, 2018 to welcome Soldiers home from a nine month deployment to South Korea. The brigade was part of a regular rot... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Fort Stewart, Ga. - Nearly 350 Soldiers with 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division arrived home to Fort Stewart, Ga., Oct. 2, 2018, after a 9-month deployment to South Korea.

The Raider Brigade deployed to South Korea in February 2018 completing their second National Training Center rotation that year to Ft. Irwin, Ca., November 2017.

Capt. Miclos St. Fleur, an air defense artillery officer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1ABCT, 3rd ID, said the rigorous training leading up to the deployment was critical to the brigade's success.

"The NTC rotation really prepared us for what we were going to experience in Korea," said St. Fleur. "But we learned more once we arrived in country where we supported the 2nd Infantry Division and Korean-American Alliance."

Family and friends of the Soldiers filled the bleachers at Cottrell Field and cheered on the returning Soldiers as they marched toward the stands. After marching across the field, the national anthem was played, the brigade chaplain said a short prayer, and the 3rd Infantry Division Commander, Maj. Gen. Leopoldo Quintas welcomed the Soldiers home. After singing the Dog Faced Soldier song and the Army song, the Soldiers were released to their families.

Sgt. Kayla Lyon, an intelligence analyst with HHC, 5-7 CAV, said she trained at NTC and studied South Korean culture before deploying.

Lyon Said, "We did a lot of studying on South and North Korea in order to be prepared as intelligence analysts, and I feel it helped."

The Soldiers were part of the first main body flight home, the rest of the Raider Brigade will be returning through the end of October.

St. Fleur said that the rotation to Korea was a rewarding experience and that he felt prepared for any mission that the brigade could have faced in Korea.

"But it feels really good to be home again," he added.

The rotation to Korea marked the first time since the Korean War that 3rd Infantry Division units had deployed to the Korean Peninsula. During the Korean War, 3rd Infantry Division soldiers earned 13 Medals of Honor and suffered 2,160 killed and almost 8,000 wounded in action. The Raider Brigade is being replaced in Korea by the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division from Fort Bliss, TX.