Lee Erwin reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
Fort Campbell, KY. – The 4th Brigade Combat Team (BCT) of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) welcome home 338 Soldiers Sunday, December 1. The 4th BCT colors, along with the commander of the brigade, Colonel Valery C. Keaveny Jr., also returned to Fort Campbell.
The Soldiers stepped off the plane around 7:30 in the morning to a large crowd of family members, friends and comrades. The Currahee’s came home from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. Their deployment was originally scheduled for nine months but because of the success of their mission they were able to return early.
As in every welcome home ceremony there were cheers of welcome home and thanks for your service from the crowd as the Soldiers walked from the aircraft to the hangar. There were also dozens of signs and banners both large and small with all of them carrying the name of a family’s special Soldier they were there to meet.
Once the families were back inside, cheers and applause erupted again as the Soldiers marched into the hangar display the 4th Brigade’s flag which had been uncased just moments before outside the hangar. It was a few minutes later that the Soldiers were given some time with their family and friends.
Private First Class Brandon Denton and his wife Bryttani were one couple especially happy to see each other again after being separated for six months. Denton was meeting his child Braiden for the first time. Braiden was only four days old, having been born the day before Thanksgiving.
“It feels great to be home, I missed my family,” Private Denton said when asked how he felt about his return home. His wife shared her feelings about seeing her husband again. It’s great, I’m glad,” said Denton.
In an interview after the welcome home ceremony, Colonel Keaveny thanked the media for coming out and covering what he said was the Soldiers stories and he said he couldn’t imagine the sacrifice the families have made. “Our families deserve a lot of credit,” said Keaveny.
Keaveny also talked about the story of the Afghan patriots. “They’re giving it their all every day for their country,” Keaveny said. Keaveny added that he was amazed at the progress in Afghanistan and not just in security and the military but also the growth of the country’s economy and agriculture. “There’s a lot of promise for the future,” said Keaveny.
About 1,000 4th BCT Soldiers remain in Afghanistan serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and are scheduled to return in the near future. This will be the last mission for the 4th Brigade as they are part of the U.S. Army’s restructuring plan with most of the Soldiers being assimilated into the other three Brigade Combat Teams at Fort Campbell.