Emotional return from Afghanistan for Michigan National Guard soldiers

Emotional return from Afghanistan for Guard
Last Updated: October 29. 2011 1:00AM
Candice Williams/ The Detroit News
Taylor — A sense of joy and relief was thick in the air Friday as a gymnasium full of tearful family members and friends welcomed home 158 soldiers after a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.

Isaiah Bryant, 26, stood patiently as he waited for his wife, Bianca, one of the soldiers. In his hand was a bouquet of roses and her wedding ring.

"I feel happy," he said before the homecoming ceremony at Truman High School in Taylor. "I feel it's been a long time. I can't wait to see her."

Bryant, of Belleville, was among the families and friends who packed the gymnasium to welcome the 158 Michigan National Guard soldiers from the 1776th Military Police Company. Their mission in Afghanistan had been to watch 2,600 detainees. The United States has some 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and plans to bring most forces home by the end of 2014.

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