CAMP MURRAY — A yearlong activation to Afghanistan on bomb-clearing duty culminated Tuesday for about 100 National Guard soldiers based in Centralia as they took a final formation before an anxious crowd of family and friends and were dismissed back to civilian life.
“We are very, very thankful to have every single one of you safely back with us,” said Washington Army National Guard Commander Bret Daugherty, moments before ordering the National Guard 204th Engineer Company to break rank and hug loved ones gathered before them in a frenzied crowd waving signs and standing on chairs for a better view.
For Chehalis resident Kristan McConnell, the wait for her husband, Andrew McConnell, 22, to return home was made especially nerve-wracking after a vehicle he was riding in was blasted early August by a roadside improvised explosive device.
“It was hard to hear that,” McConnell, 24, a Winlock High School graduate, said of the extra anxiety she felt after months of loneliness. “I just tried to keep myself busy with work and family.”
No one was critically hurt in the blast, McConnell said, nor in any other combat action her husband experienced but couldn’t talk about when they typically talked once a week — or once a month.
Coined with the motto “You Fear It, We Clear It,” the 204th Engineers Company removed 50 IEDs across multiple areas of Afghanistan while traveling over 12,000 kilometers of routes, according to Capt. Jack Claros, the unit’s commander. The company was last stationed at Camp Dwyer in the Helmand Province.
The 204th returned stateside Thursday to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, the home of a company they had augmented with while on deployment. The reception Tuesday was the company’s first reunion with family and friends after deploying early November 2009.
Stephen Sherman, of Chehalis, was greeted by a throng of family and friends and expressed his emotions after a yearlong mission succinctly.
“It’s good, it’s exciting,” Sherman said. “That’s all I’ve got to say.”
His father, a Vietnam veteran who noted Sherman is now a fourth-generation veteran, had more to say about the process his son went through in Afghanistan.
“It was a real work of faith; he developed a real trusting in God,” David Sherman said. “It’s made a man of him.”
Susie McConnell, Andrew McConnell’s mother, said she anticipates plenty of family gatherings to take place over the next couple of weeks now that her son is home.
“It’s been a long year for every family member,” she said.
Of the 100 soldiers who are headquartered at the 204th in Centralia, Stephen Sherman said only about three or four of them are actually from the Lewis County area. Most soldiers are weekend commuters from the Vancouver, Yakima, Seattle and Tacoma areas, he said.
Now that the 204th is home, company soldiers will get 90 days off from monthly weekend drills in Centralia, Commander Daugherty said.
However, in about 30 days many will gather at the Great Wolf Lodge for a briefing on job opportunities, college funding, and ongoing medical benefits.
Tentatively scheduled for Jan. 8, 2011, the 204th soldiers will gather in Centralia for a Freedom Salute ceremony where they will be honored for their service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. At least two Purple Hearts, 38 Combat Action badges and 61 Army Commendation Medals will be bestowed upon soldiers, while a number of other awards are still pending.
For now, it’s up to the National Guard brass to figure out the rest of logistics.
“This is it, they’re going home,” Daugherty said.
•••
Adam Pearson: (360) 807-8208
