CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The final leg of Sgt. Andy Youngs' journey from Iraq was aboard a big, white charter bus along hilly Interstate 24 into the arms of his 22-year-old wife, Emily, and 2-year-old son, Ethyn.
In the year since Sgt. Youngs was deployed with the 252nd Army National Guard Military Police Company, Mrs. Youngs has watched their blond-haired son grow taller and learn to walk and talk. She's even bought a home without her husband by her side.
"Andy saw him walk for his first time when he was home on leave in December, but now he's talking up a storm," Mrs. Youngs said just before her husband arrived home from his yearlong mission. "Keeping in touch by the Web cam has been amazing. Ethyn swears Daddy lives in the computer."
But no virtual experience can compare to seeing dad in person, and on Sunday, Mrs. Youngs and dozens of other Army wives and husbands shared the hope that this deployment would be the final dispatch to Iraq.
"Hopefully we're done with this," Mrs. Youngs said. "But there's no telling."
Political leaders have said that Iraqis needed to first fend for themselves before American troops could leave the country. Work by soldiers such as Sgt. Youngs, who trained Iraqi officers to work similarly to American police, was necessary, his commander said.
"I doubt very much that we will go back to Iraq, but Afghanistan is another story," said Lt. Robert Barrett, the unit's commander while in Iraq.
The Cleveland-based 252nd teamed with the Fort Stewart, Ga.-based 3rd Infantry Division to train the Iraqi police force. Lt. Barrett said the unit was a "police transition team." He deemed the mission a success.
"I felt that we were definitely making progress toward the Iraqis being able to stand up and do things on their own," Lt. Barrett said. "By the time we left, we were pretty much hands off."
In the scorching Tennessee heat Sunday, soldiers said they were glad to be done with their work, but they had mixed feelings about leaving Iraq behind. At least in Iraq, there has been some ground gained and some sense of stability.
"The way had definitely been paved," said Sgt. Tony Garrett, of Harrison. "I expected more danger, but it wasn't as bad."
Though glad to be done with his work in Iraq, there was some unease about the future.
"It's a relief, but it's not," said Sgt. Garrett as he loaded his twin boys and 4-year-old daughter into his SUV. "We know we're not going back to Iraq, but we're probably going somewhere."
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Article: Cleveland-based Guard unit prepares to deploy