Soldiers return home to their families in Idaho after being away for a year
Published at
IDAHO FALLS — There was a great deal of happiness and joy near the Idaho Falls Airport Friday as military families were reunited with loved ones.
On Friday afternoon, the Idaho Army National Guard brought home nearly 45 soldiers from the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team after a year-long deployment to southwest Asia in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
The plane arrived a little before 2 p.m. at Aero Mark, near an airplane hangar. Families waited anxiously for their loved ones to return.
Kimberly O’Steen was one of those waiting with her 11-year-old son for her husband to come off the plane. She said her husband, Shaun, has been in Kuwait. He is a sergeant and fixes military vehicles.
O’Steen has been looking forward to seeing her husband after waiting for a year.
“I am very excited. (There’s been) excitement for the last week and trying to keep myself together with the kids around,” O’Steen said. “We are going to have a party next weekend that I planned with his family and my family.”
She kept the surprise a secret from her two children. She told her son, Shane, they were going to the dentist’s office but surprised him by bringing him to come to see his dad at Aero Mark.
“When we got here, I thought, this is the middle of nowhere. This doesn’t look like the dentist,” Shane said. “I don’t even know how to react because I only learned about this minutes ago!”
Shane said he was still in shock that they were going to be seeing his dad. O’Steen told EastIdahoNews.com once they welcomed her husband, they would surprise their 17-year-old daughter at school.
Families held signs as soldiers came off the plane and walked into a hangar that said, “Welcome Home Daddy!”, “I’d wait forever, but 365 days is long enough,” and “We waited 365 days for this!”
Children ran and leaped into their father’s arms while many wives and husbands kissed with tears in their eyes.
“These soldiers embody what the National Guard is all about: citizen-soldiers who serve their nation when called upon and return home to their families and communities,” said Brig. Gen. Farin Schwartz, a commander with the Idaho Army National Guard, in a news release. “It’s an honor to welcome these soldiers home, and I thank each one of them for their service and dedication to our state and nation. For 10 months, our soldiers deterred enemy aggression in a very hostile environment, symbolizing our nation’s commitment to our global partners and allies.”
According to a news release from the Idaho Army National Guard, the soldiers deployed in November 2021 to support the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s Task Force Griz, which was headquartered by the Montana Army National Guard and included soldiers from the Idaho, Montana, Florida and Nevada.
Idaho soldiers comprised nearly 20% of the task force. The task force conducted missions and training exercises in Iraq, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria and Qatar.
An additional 150 soldiers will return to their communities elsewhere across Idaho throughout Friday.
