COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Fort Carson unit that has served the longest in Iraq returned Monday after a 15-month deployment.
The 759th Military Police Battalion had been in Baghdad since August 2006, completing more than 18,000 combat patrols and training hundreds of Iraqi police. The battalion of 250 soldiers lost six of their own.
“It feels so good to be home,” said Sgt. Wallace Sims as he hugged his wife, son and daughter during the homecoming ceremony at the base south of Colorado Springs.
His wife, Syreeta, said the children were so excited that she tried to make them sleep in late so they wouldn’t be running around ahead of their father’s 12:30 p.m. arrival.
“I worked so hard trying to keep them up late so they would sleep,” she said.
The battalion initially was sent to Iraq for 12 months, but got caught up in Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to lengthen soldiers’ deployments.
Sgt. Maj. Gary Fowler said he was sent to war zones five times, including Iraq during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. This was his longest deployment.
“When the plane was landing there was a big cheer,” Fowler said.
The 3,600-soldier 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division and a few hundred other soldiers from the 43rd Area Support group will have served 15 months in Iraq mark before coming home late this year or in early January.
The 3,600-soldier 3rd Brigade Combat team of the 4th Infantry Division will leave in December for a scheduled 15-month deployment to Baghdad.
