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m .'•‘iW t WHi, 1 Lfhr irIMi 'Mil- ■Observer—Tom Treweek photoIThere were hugs to go around when the 111th Combat Service Brigade was welcomed home Sunday in a parade through Rio Rancho. Most of the soldiers, who are based at the Rio Rancho armory, came home after 15 months in the Middle East.By TOM TREWEEKObserver staff reportersiWhen soldiers go off to war— or any deployment that takes them away from home— the attention is given to thoseIleaving. When they return, thefocus is on the reunited family.I IOn Sunday, 155 soldiersfrom the 111th Combat ServiceBrigade were welcomed home, after 15 months deployed, ina parade through Rio Rancho,ushering in a time of reuniting with their families.I“There’s nothing like beinghome,” said U.S. Rep. HeatherWilson, who served in the AirForce.Wilson said she had been theone to leave home on assignmentand had also seen her husband,enlisted with the Air NationalGuard, depart.“It’s a whole lot harder to bethe family thats praying and waiting for you to come home,” she said.Likewise, Brigade Cmdr. Gregory Zanetti credited all citizens at home for supporting their soldiers from afar.“The soldiers know we could not do this job without you,”Zanetti said. “You have ourgratitude for the way that you support us.”Of those returning, 13 had been serving in Operation ClearSkies, protecting America’s airways following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The rest were in Iraq and Kuwait as partof Task Force Cobra.Currently, there are only fiveNational Guardsmen basedin Rio Rancho who. are stilldeployed. They are serving in Afghanistan. None remain in Iraq,In front of their friends andfamily, the returning soldiers received continued praiseSee Story, Page A-J
Newspaper Details
Rio Rancho Observer
Rio Rancho, New Mexico, US
Thu, Nov 23, 2006
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Justin Y.
NA, 25 Jul 2020
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