TWO UNITS FROM V CORPS' 22ND SIGNAL BRIGADE RETURN HOME FROM IRAQ
V Corps Release
Release Date: 2/17/2004
By Donna Dean 233rd Base Support Battalion Public Affairs Office
DARMSTADT, Germany -- With flags and signs waving, spouses, children and friends eagerly waited outside the gate of Cambrai-Fritsch Kaserne here last Wednesday Feb. 11 for the buses bringing Soldiers of V Corps' 578th Signal Company, 440th Signal Battalion home from Iraq.
"I'm nervous," said Rachel Johnston. "I cannot wait for him see Tyler, the house and me. We're going to catch up, have lots of family time, and relax. He left right after Tyler was born. We haven't been able to experience being a family. It will be so nice."
Even before the buses could be seen, the sound of them chugging up the hill brought screams and cheers from the crowd. Families blocked the gate briefly so the Soldiers and their loved ones could get a glimpse of one another -- faces they haven't seen for a year -- before the buses moved on to the company's headquarters.
Two hours later, after weapons were accounted for, sensitive items turned in, and barracks room keys distributed, the 80 Soldiers marched under a starry sky to the fitness center here, where the crowd once again cheered and tears flowed as the desert camouflage-clad troops entered and stood in formation.
Following brief remarks of gratitude by Lt. Col. L. J. Strife, commander of the 233rd Base Support Bn. and Capt. Jeffrey Prevett, the 578th's commander, and as the clock struck midnight, the weary Soldiers, spouses, and children were finally able to put their arms around each other.
Early the following morning, a plane carrying 80 more Soldiers from V Corps' 22nd Signal Brigade -- this time from Company C, 32nd Signal Battalion here -- landed at Ramstein Air Base. A few hours later, families and friends began gathering at the Kelley Barracks fitness center.
Diana Pacheco found creative ways to prepare her 5-year-old son, Eugene, for this day.
"Starting last week, we marked the calendar saying how many wake-ups Papa had before he would be home," she said. "He knows today he's coming. He has plans for Papa. He's on a basketball team and I've been going to all his practices. Now he wants Papa to go."
Little Eugene wasn't sure how long Papa had been gone, but he definitely knew this day was special.
"We're waiting for my dad to come," he said. "He's in the Middle East and he's been there a long time. He's coming here, but he's not here yet."
Pacheco said being a single parent for a year was hard and exhausting. To keep busy, she took college classes and went home to New York for the summer.
"I think I would have stayed longer in New York, but Eugene started kindergarten this fall," she said.
Just a short walk away, Spc. Eugene Pacheco was anxiously waiting at the company's motor pool to go home.
"I'm very excited," he said. "I can't wait to go into the gym and see my wife and kids. During our block leave we want to take a little trip to Spain or France."
As with the ceremony for 578th the night before, Strife and Company C commander Capt. Sang Han kept their comments brief. As soon as 1st Sgt. Lee Stevens dismissed the troops, spouses and children bounded down the bleachers, onto the floor and into the arms of their loved ones.
The redeployed soldiers began the mandatory seven-day reintegration briefings the morning following their return. Thirty-day block leave follows reintegration.
The two units represent the first large contingent of Darmstadt and 22nd Signal Brigade troops to return after serving one year in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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