FORT RILEY, Kan. - While waiting for the arrival of her husband, Jennifer Kent fed her 3-month-old daughter, Ashley, who was dressed in a red, white and blue tutu, with a red, white and blue bow in her hair.
Kent's husband, Spc. Brandon Kent, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 97th Military Police Battalion, was among 80 Soldiers who redeployed July 15, following a yearlong deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
"My Family back home was a lot of support," Jennifer said about the months she spent without her husband. "They're far away, but we talked on the phone every day."
When asked how he felt about seeing his daughter for the first time since her birth, Brandon said he could not find the words to express how he was feeling.
"I can't even tell you," he said.
The detachment deployed in July 2009 to Afghanistan, where they provided mentorship training to the Afghan police.
"I went back and I told these people before they came out, ' you know, you should be very proud of all that you have accomplished, and you should take it with you the rest of your lives,'" said Col. Kevin Brown, Fort Riley garrison commander. "Fifty or 60 years from now, some of these young Soldiers standing in this formation today will have grandkids, and they will be able to tell their grandchildren that they made a difference in the world."
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