Fort Hood: 300 troops home from Iraq for holidays

Fort Hood: 300 troops home from Iraq for holidays
By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press – 5 hours ago
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Staff Sgt. Elama Palemene held his two young daughters and kissed his wife early Sunday after returning to Fort Hood with about 300 other soldiers, among the last U.S. combat troops returning from Iraq in time for the holidays.

They arrived about 3 a.m. to a cheering, flag-waving crowd of teary wives and bundled-up youngsters on a field at the Texas Army post with temperatures in the high 40s.

"My husband wanted to have (our children) stay behind, but it was a must to have them here," said Annaden Palemene, his wife, who held a large homemade sign that read "Sgt. Palemene, Your Tour Stops Here."

The soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division said they were glad to be home before the holidays — and relieved to be out of Iraq.

"This was my fourth deployment to Iraq ... so it feels great to be home," said Staff Sgt. James Cantrell, who had just hugged his wife, Brenda, and 7-year-old daughter Janelle.

The group was among many returning to Fort Hood in recent weeks — one nearly every day — because of the troop withdrawal, said Staff Sgt. Jefferson VanWey, a 1st Cavalry spokesman.

Several soldiers said they were was happy upon hearing the news that the very last U.S. combat troops rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday. That convoy's exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered, with troubling questions lingering over whether the Arab nation will remain a steadfast U.S. ally.
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