JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash, -- The 131 Soldiers of the I Corps Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion became the first of that unit to return to Joint Base Lewis-McChord from Afghanistan Saturday, just in time for Memorial Day.
The yearlong deployment has been an historic one for America's Corps, its first as the U.S. contingent of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command. Lieutenant General Mike Scaparrotti, I Corps commanding general, took command of International Joint Command under ISAF, to perform a mission he said was "of strategic importance" when the corps headquarters departed JBLM May 26, 2011. Scaparrotti and his I Corps Soldiers have overseen the effort to deny sanctuary to Taliban fighters and restore security to Afghanistan.
The I Corps commander and his senior staff, however, were not among the first wave of returning I Corps Soldiers. For the friends and families awaiting the first group at Soldiers' Field House, none of that mattered.
"I think they're just so proud of their Soldiers," I Corps HHB Rear Detachment Commander Lt. Col. Elisabeth Crooks said after cutting her remarks at the redeployment ceremony short so the groups could reunite.
In many respects, it's been a challenging deployment for the unit. Rather than deploy as a corps, they were spread across 16 different provinces in Afghanistan.
Among them was Canadian army Warrant Officer Mark Baisley, who came to JBLM as part of an officer exchange just two days before deploying to Afghanistan. He spent the last year as part of an international team mentoring and training parts of the Afghan National Army.
"It was an experience for myself," he said.
Baisley noted that there are many similarities between the U.S. and Canadian armies, including a parallel rank structure. What was different was the scale, compared to the smaller Canadian army.
He also noted differences from past deployments. During a 2007 deployment with a ground force unit in Kandahar, he saw losses. This time around, with ISAF IJC in Kabul, progress was measured in gains as the forces he was training refined their skills.
Another change to this deployment was getting to see the big picture. From Kabul, Baisley got a much clearer view of how everyone was doing -- and isn't sure that people realize the losses not just to NATO forces, but to the ANA as well.
In the end, though, he found another similarity to his U.S. counterparts. Baisley is most looking forward to returning to his family in Ottawa, Ontario, before heading to his next assignment in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Doubtless his family is just as eager to see him.
That was certainly the case for Pamela Broten. After more than 19 years as an Army spouse, she isn't numbed when her husband, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Scott Broten, is away.
"They just get harder, they don't get easier," she said as she waited with their sons, Eric, 19, and Jeffrey, 15.
This was Scott's fourth deployment, and Pamela is hoping that it's his last. In four weeks the family will change stations to Fort Gordon, Ga.
In the end, though, it was Baisley who knew best. In his time downrange, his international team that included Spaniards, Brits and Italians became like a family, and that's what made it work so well.
"It doesn't matter where you go," he said. "It's all about the people."
More than 600 I Corps Soldiers are still in Afghanistan, and expected to return to JBLM in several groups in the coming weeks.
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