Southwest Virginia Soldiers Welcomed Home

After a year of service in Iraq, dozens of Southwest Virginia soldiers are back in the arms of loved ones tonight. Exactly one year ago today, more than 30 Southwest Virginia soldiers deployed with the 180th Engineer Company of the Virginia National Guard. Tuesday afternoon, every one of those soldiers returned home.

“It feels great,“ Sgt. Jordan Jackson said. “It’s a little overwhelming, but it’s really great to have all the support. It really is.“

Dozens of family members and friends welcomed the men and women of the 180th home Tuesday at Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Blountville. People like Regina Sullivan arrived early to make sure they were there when their soldier exited the plane.

“Knowing that everyone is coming back this time has been a blessing,“ Sullivan said. “This makes my husband’s second deployment. Last time when he came back we had two soldiers that didn’t get to return back with them.“

Although Sullivan could barely contain her excitement when her husband walked back into her arms, he shared his relief too.

“I feel a lot better,“ Sgt. James Sullivan said. “I finally got to see her again. I missed her. I missed all of them.“

The group of soldiers that arrived today is made up mostly of men and women from the 1033rd Engineering Support Company out of Cedar Bluff, Virginia.

“It’s definitely a welcome change getting back home,“ Jackson said. “It’s pretty hot over there, but we’ve accomplished a lot of great missions for the Iraqi’s and I think we’re all very proud of what we’ve accomplished.“

While in Iraq, the soldiers participated in more than 20 engineer missions including training compound improvements for the Iraqi Special
Forces, site preparation for a bridge installation, and the reopening of the last stretch of Iraqi Highway 1.

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