Holiday Homecoming: Troops Back with Families

Dec. 24, 2006 — -- Throughout airports and bus depots across the country Sunday, troops and their loved ones reunited just in time for the holidays.

There were tears and hugs, but mostly thanks for what many said was "the best Christmas present they could get."

Early this morning in Indiana, more than 150 National Guard soldiers returned home from a year-long deployment in Iraq providing security and training the Iraqi police. One father took a look at the returning troops and with tears in his eyes said, "We're all proud of them. I just can't believe they're home and safe."

Maj. Lori Kabel paced outside the doors of customs' at Baltimore's airport, anxiously awaiting the return of her husband, Lt. Col. Dan Claremont. The two are both civil engineers with the Air Force working in Iraq on reconstruction projects.

They've been married just over a year and separated by work and war most of that time.

"First I was deployed for six months," Kabel said, "and the last day of my six-month deployment was the first day of his six-month deployment."

She ran to her husband when he finally came through the door. They both know there's a good chance one of them will have to return to Iraq. But for now, their focus is on home and not on all the talk in Washington of a possible increase in troop levels.

"That's above my pay grade," Claremont said.

But his wife, Kabel, acknowledged, "It's tough being apart from families."

She added, "It's what we joined for and we're doing a lot of good."

Kabel and Claremont know they're among the lucky ones because they get to be together for the holidays, and that's only because Claremont's deployment just ended.

Most troops are deployed to Iraq for a year with a two-week break after six months. If it falls on the holidays, then by coincidence, they are home for Christmas.

If they're based in the United States, they have a much better chance of getting leave. Most of the bases drastically reduce operations during the holidays to allow troops time with their families.

The Army, which makes up the majority of the military, estimates more than half of their soldiers are on holiday leave.

But with talk of troop surges coming out of Iraq, this holiday homecoming takes on added significance.

This weekend, roughly 170 members of the Michigan National Guard arrived home from their training in Fort Dix, N.J. Their trip came courtesy of a family readiness group in Detroit that raised money to bring them home on buses.

One mother couldn't stop hugging her son.

"I'm so happy. It's so wonderful to see him home," she said.

The soldiers will be on leave until Jan. 1, and then they will likely head to Iraq for a year's deployment.