Panthers come home after deployment

by Eve Meinhardt
Paraglide

	photo by Eve Meinhardt/Paraglide Sgt. 1st Class William Lillie, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 5th Battalion, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, is greeted by his 9-month-old son, Christian, at Pope Air Force’s Green Ramp. More than 260 paratroopers from the 3rd BCT returned from their 12-month deployment to Iraq Thursday.

On Thursday, more than 260 paratroopers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division and the brigade’s commander, Col. Timothy P. McGuire, redeployed to Fort Bragg from their 12-month deployment to Iraq. The flight was one of many over the last few weeks, returning the more than 3,400 deployed Soldiers from the 3rd BCT home.

The 3rd BCT began deploying to Iraq in November 2008. During their deployment, the Panther Brigade played a crucial role in mentoring and guiding the Iraq Security Forces, as well as working in a civil capacity helping the Iraqi people develop irrigation systems, farm and even building relationships on the soccer field.

As the paratroopers stood in a brief formation before their Families and friends after getting off the plane, Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, commander, XVIII Airborne Corpsand Fort Bragg, congratulated them on their achievements.

“Job well done,” said Helmick. “You set the standard that no other unit deployed to Iraq has ever set. You gave the Iraqis their freedom.”

As U.S. forces moved out of the urban areas to meet the June 30 mandate, paratroopers from the 3rd BCT helped the Iraqis develop the skills necessary to take the lead and ensure lasting security in Iraq. While the Soldiers are proud of their brigade’s accomplishments overseas, they said they are happy to be home.

“It’s great to be home,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Craig, a mortar platoon sergeant in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd BCT, 82nd Abn. Div., who redeployed on Nov. 17. “It felt so good to put my boots on the ground, smell the fresh air and see the green grass. It’s the best feeling in the world to know that you’re no longer in a war zone.”

This recent deployment was his sixth in his 12-year career – his third to Iraq. He said he is happy to be home in time for his son Caleb’s fourth birthday on Dec. 1.

“I feel really lucky to be home to see him and that I don’t have a shy kid,” said Craig, whose wife, Joan, met him at Pope Air Force Base’s Green Ramp. “I got to go pick him up at daycare and when he saw me come around the corner, he puckered up his face and came running at me. He was too young to understand what was going on the last time I was deployed, but this time he knew that I was gone for work and realizes how long it was and what it means for me to be back.”
Craig’s Family wasn’t the only one that’s shared an emotional reunion. As the paratroopers reunited with their husbands, wives, parents, friends and children, handshakes and hugs given through tears and smiles welcomed the Soldiers home.