DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.,None — WFTV was there when 40 soldiers from Central Florida returned home on Sunday after serving a year in Afghanistan.
The soldiers are members of the Florida Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery, based in Daytona Beach.
Dozens of wives, parents, and children were there to cheer them on, and give them a hug for the first time in a year.
"What's the first thing you want to do now that you're back in the states?", asked WFTV reporter Bob Hazen. "Well, it's Sunday, I'm going to watch some football, and drink some beer," Sgt. Brian Riedel replied.
The soldiers were deployed to provide perimeter security for forward operating bases in Afghanistan.
During that time, First Sgt. Wesley Erb missed a lot of growing up of his two young children.
"This one plays football now. This one's a swimmer," explained Sgt. Erb.
"It was hard, we missed him terribly. But the great support system, the unit kept us informed, and I stayed busy with 2 little ones... Just glad its over," said Erb's wife, Valerie.
They arrived back at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Daytona Beach early Sunday morning.
The homecoming will likely be repeated in the coming weeks. President Obama just announced that all American troops would soon be coming back from Iraq. Roughly 100 Florida National Guard soldiers are still there.
"I'm assuming they will be heading back soon. We've also mobilized several hundred more, to prepare to go to Iraq in the coming weeks, we don't know what that means for them yet," explained Adj. General Emmett Titshaw.
General Titshaw says some of those soldiers may be sent to other countries, or they could be kept here. He told WFTV he expects to find out more in the coming week.
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