90 Schofield soldiers return

Families welcome warriors to Oahu after they spent a year in the Mideast

STORY SUMMARY »

Families and friends celebrated the homecoming of 90 Schofield Barracks soldiers yesterday who returned from a yearlong tour in Iraq.

The soldiers, part of the 45th Sustainment Brigade, came home one year to the day after they were deployed. The unit suffered no casualties during the assignment.

» The soldiers make up the 8th Field Surgical Team and the 524th Combat Service Sustainment Battalion.

» They are the first large contingent to return from a group of 7,000 25th Infantry Division soldiers sent to Iraq last year.

» Most of the remaining Schofield soldiers in Iraq will begin returning to Oahu next month.

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Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Watt stomped his feet and let out a shout of joy when he saw his 4-year-old daughter run up to him. With tears in his eyes he picked her up and gave her a hug.

"I feel great," Watt said. "It just feels good."

Ninety soldiers, including Watt, returned from a 12-month deployment to Iraq yesterday and were greeted by their families at Wheeler Army Air Field. No one suffered combat-related injuries, an official said.

The group comprised two companies: the 8th Field Surgical Team and the 524th Combat Service Sustainment Battalion, both of the 45th Sustainment Brigade at Schofield Barracks. The Brigade still has 117 soldiers of the 40th Quarter Master in Iraq that will return later this month.

The larger group of 7,000 Schofield soldiers, who have been in Iraq for more than a year, are due back beginning next month.

The 75 soldiers of the 524th were stationed at Q-West, in northern Iraq, south of Mosul, delivering supplies and logistical support to all the units in the region.

The 15 soldiers of the 8th FST were stationed at the Combat Support Hospital in Mosul. The soldiers are doctors, nurses and operating room technicians, and served coalition forces and Iraqis.

Some soldiers were still trying to believe that they were back home yesterday.

"I kind of need to soak it up still," said Spc. Rudy Sanchez.

His friend Spc. David Poncio, 26, said being away from his wife and three children, ages 3 to 7, was difficult. He regretted "missing the time watching my boy grow up."

Poncio's wife, Chrissy, 23, said their children cried almost every night for the first two weeks he was gone. "I'm very happy he's finally home," she said.

It was almost too much for her to bear, waiting through the formal reception before the soldiers could see their families.

"I just wanted to grab him," she said. "I haven't seen him for so long. I've been anxious all day, the whole week."

Maj. Rob Davis of the 524th served 14 months in Iraq, longer than the other soldiers. He noticed the improvements for soldiers this time, his second tour in the Middle East. The food tasted better and the accommodations were more comfortable, he said.

The only serious issue was the water shortage at the end of the tour, restricting showers to once every three days, he said.

After living in 20-foot containers the past year, Davis said, the simple things would make him happy at home.

"With the family, it's always the excitement and joys and happiness," he said.

Davis added that gifts from Hawaii residents were a blessing, helping him feel closer to home.

"The outpouring of support we got from Oahu was just fantastic," he said.

Watt said retirement was on his mind. His wife, Army Capt. Theresa Watt, was happy to hear it after dealing with the stress of raising their two daughters alone, including a 6-month-old girl.

"It's been a long year, especially with the new addition to the family," she said.

After 19 years in the Army, Watt said he just wanted to think about being a dad.

"He'll be here and never leave these girls again. That's the good part," his wife said.

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Mideast trip pre-empts isle visit

President Bush's scheduled Hawaii stop did not happen yesterday -- instead, he took a secret trip to Iraq on Air Force One.

The U.S. Secret Service said last week that Bush would land yesterday at Hickam Air Force Base for a "fuel stop" on his way to Australia for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. But White House officials had been planning for five or six weeks Bush's trip to Iraq, where he met with military commanders and national security advisers. Next week, Bush must tell lawmakers his evaluation of the progress of the war since he announced a buildup of 30,000 troops in January.

Bush still is scheduled to be in Hawaii late Saturday morning for a three-hour lunch with troops before leaving in the afternoon, Hickam officials said.

Bush's trip -- his third to Iraq -- was a closely guarded secret.

A small group of reporters, photographers and a camera crew flew with the president on Air Force One to Iraq from Andrews Air Force Base.

The rest of the press corps boarded a charter aircraft to fly to Australia ahead of Bush. They stopped in Hawaii as planned.

On board, deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel carried a sealed letter with instructions not to open until landing. And he notified reporters in Hawaii that Bush was in Iraq.