Fort Campbell, KY. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Hangar 3 at Fort Campbell was filled excitement Wednesday as 220 soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) “STRIKE”, of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), returned after a nine-month deployment to Iraq and Kuwait.
As always, the Welcome Home Ceremony was attended by family, friends and comrades of the returning soldiers and this ceremony also featured the uncasing of the brigade’s colors by the 2nd BCT Commander Colonel Brett Sylvia and Command Sergeant Major Jason Wilson.
Colonel Sylvia talked about the successful mission of the brigade in Iraq. “One of the things we said before we left was that we were going to aggressively advise our Iraqi counterparts and that’s exactly what these guys did,” said Sylvia.
Sylvia added, “Theses Strike soldiers went out there and found ways every single day to advise, assist, enable and cajole their Iraqi counterparts because they were focused on getting them into Mosul. That’s what these soldiers, these leaders determined that they wanted to get out of this deployment was to be able to do that, and they did it, it was amazing,” said Sylvia.
A team from television’s National Geographic spent time with 2nd BCT soldiers while they were in Iraq and also attended the Welcome Home Ceremony Wednesday night. Their video footage and reporting are set to appear on an upcoming special feature called “Chain of Command”.
