WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |185 Alabama soldiers return from tour in Iraq

185 Alabama soldiers return from tour in Iraq

Posted by: Daniel Curtis - bio | email

TALLASSEE, AL (WSFA) - 185 troops from Tallassee's 158th maintenance company is safe and sound after spending a year in Iraq.

Members of the 158th maintenance company filed off the buses and into the arms of their loved ones Sunday morning.

Friends and families were anxiously waiting for them at Fort Dewey Piper Armory.

"To see your family when you are away for so long, and you're finally here, it's just one of the best feelings in the world," says guardsman Scott Steele.

Deployed since last November, the185 men and women were of the 158th were retrieving and repairing homes, trucks and other military vehicles on the battlefield.

And now with their mission complete they're looking forward to returning to a more normal life.

"To just have that feeling it's so good to be home, it's overwhelming, yes it is," say SSGT Sidney Johnson.

As for family members they say this is a day that couldn't have come soon enough.

"It's his second tour to Iraq and to have him over there and serve and come back it's just a wonderful feeling," says Steve Steele, the father of guardsman Scott Steele.

Last thanksgiving spouses raised $10,000 dollars to help bring the soldiers home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

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