Chattanooga soldiers return home after ten month mission in Kuwait
The troops arrived shortly after 1:30 P.M. at the Tennessee Army National Guard base in Smyrna.
Hundreds of people stood both in the rain and inside an airplane hanger awaiting loved ones to arrive via commercial airline.
Every 15-minutes, an uniformed soldier who works at the base got on a loud speaker to let family and friends know how far out the plan was from the base.
A loud cheer erupted from people on the tarmac when it became obvious the plane was landing on the runway.
Then the moment that everyone was waiting for had finally arrived as troops began walking off the plane.
Karen Allen of Athens told WDEF she hasn’t seen her son in 305 days. She and several family members waited for him to depart the plane.
"It’s been a long ten months but it’s been good because we had technology that allowed us to talk back and forth. I don’t know how folks did it before," Allen said.
Chattanooga City Councilman Chip Henderson was also in attendance to greet his son Joshua who just complete his first deployment. The two were side-by-side as they they made their way toward the hanger when WDEF asked Joshua how it felt to finally be home with his family.
"It’s a long time coming. It’s been 10 months now so I’m really excited. The last 15 minutes on the plane was a little difficult," said the 1st lieutenant. Then his father chimed in. "It’s a joy. It’s an answer to prayer. We’re just relieved," said Councilman Henderson.
WDEF also ran into Kyle Gould who is also from Chattanooga. As soon as he got off the plane, he quickly picked up his little daughter and held her tight.
"It feels great. It’s been a long time waiting and after coming from Kuwait, coming here and after fort bliss it feels great," Gould said.
But Gould wasn’t the only soldier who was looking forward to being reunited with his child.
"It’s Gunners second birthday today. He’s two years old. I’ve been gone for ten months and I just love this little guy," said Sgt. Christopher Carroll.
And then there’s Sgt Kristine Purcell and her partner Shelly. WDEF first met them last year when Purcell was being deployed.
"It’s definitely hard. I think that as soldiers we have a little more of an idea of what it’s like, especially when going on multiple tours. You understand that. This is Shelly’s first tour and I knew it was going be hard on her but she did it. She’s honestly one of the strongest women I’ve ever met in my entire life," Purcell said.
At one point after the soldiers departed the plane, one unidentified soldier got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. She accepted the proposal and proudly wore the engagement ring for everyone to see.
The unit from the 252nd Tennessee Army National Guard deployed from Cleveland Tennessee last summer. They spent a month undergoing training in New Jersey before being deployed to Kuwait.
The troops returned to U.S. soil late last month and spent a little more than a week at Fort Bliss in Texas undergoing their military transition back to civilian life.
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