Families made signs to welcome home soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division returning from nine months in Afghanistan. Photo credit Blake Farmer/WPLN
A 747 carrying more than a hundred soldiers touched down at Fort Campbell Thursday after a nine-month tour in Afghanistan. The homecoming ceremony occurred as other units on post are making final preparations to deploy.
Families rang cowbells and held signs as their loved ones arrived.
Wives like Sarah Curry have been through this before. Her husband has now completed six tours in their 13-year marriage.
“He’s been deployed for almost four of the years, we counted it up. It’s always hard. I think we get better at doing it.”
And Curry says it’s hard to think this deployment was the last, despite the current drawdown in Afghanistan. But 101st Airborne Division commander James McConville told the crowd the U.S. is winning as more control is handed to the Afghans.
“Well welcome home and congratulations on a job well done.”
After a few hearty handshakes McConville went back to a training exercise. He’ll lead two of the division’s brigades back to Afghanistan in the weeks following Christmas.
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