A military police company returns to Tampa

Coming home to a new world
A military police company returns to Tampa to find many changes on the home front during their 11-month tour.
Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, January 23, 2009
TAMPA — For the last 11 months, Luis Calderon's life back home has gone on without him.

His wife made a new circle of friends. The bedroom curtains changed. And his two daughters?

"They've grown 4 inches in a year. Both of them," said Calderon, who returned Thursday morning from Iraq. He and 161 other members of the 320th Military Police Company were welcomed home at Tampa International Airport by teary-eyed wives, anxious family members and flag-waving supporters.

But the world Calderon left nearly a year ago is not exactly the one he returned to Thursday. We have a black president. Fewer banks. Colder weather. Cheaper gas.

Calderon saw some of these changes from a computer screen in Tikrit, a world of roadside bombs, gunshots and military salutes. But some things can't be transmitted via Webcam.

"When I left, the little one didn't talk that much. Now, on the way home, she started singing the ABCs," he said. "I was just amazed how much she knows."
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