Photo By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry | Indiana National Guard Spc. James Gulley receives hugs from his daughters, Emily,...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Jeff Lowry
120th Public Affairs Detachment
INDIANAPOLIS - Over an ocean and above the woods more than 320 Hoosier troops with the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team arrived at the Indianapolis International Airport on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 27.
After clearance through customs and turning in what Soldiers call sensitive items - weapons and night vision goggles - to military policemen, it was onto Stout Field to visit friends and family for an hour.
"This is the best Thanksgiving ever," said Mark Filicsky, father of Spc. Jason Filicsky. "Because my son is back home," said his mother, Barb. "Safely," added his sister, Dawn.
Filicksy, of Cartersburg, Ind., is a driver with Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 150th Field Artillery and served nine months in Iraq with approximately 3,400 other 76th Brigade Citizen-Soldiers.
"We had to get product from point A to point B," said Filicsky of his battery's mission overseas.
"Spoken like a true truck driver," said his father, who drives trucks for a living.
As a driver with Battery A, Filicsky was part of security that helped the unit escort more than 13,000 foreign national drivers safely through check points and operating bases throughout northern Iraq.
The reception ceremony at Stout Field was a time for families and friends to celebrate their Soldiers Thanksgiving arrival on Hoosier soil.
Hundreds of friends and family members cheered and yelled when Patriot Guard Riders' motorcycles thundered outside the hangar. The riders had escorted the bus convoy from the airport to Stout Field.
Moments later a knock on an overhead door and cheering and yelling intensified, and the noise was even louder when the Soldiers entered the hangar. Family members jumped up and down, and held welcome home signs. A boy dressed in combat fatigues waved U.S. flags. And many other family members documented the Soldiers march with cameras and personal cell phones.
By the time the more than 320 Soldiers stopped, the noise was so loud that they couldn't hear command of "fall out."
Once they did it was a time for hugs, kisses, tears of joy, and just being together again. One Indianapolis Citizen-Soldier proposed to his girlfriend. She accepted. Another was inundated with questions from his daughters.
"Why aren't you wearing your contacts daddy?" asked Mercedes Gulley of her father, Spc. James Gulley.
"I wasn't allowed to wear contacts in the desert," said Gulley, of Indianapolis, and a fuel specialist with Company E, 113th Brigade Support Battalion. "Sand would get in my eyes, and it would hurt," he explained.
"Can we go to Taco Bell?" asked Emily. "We'll see," said the father.
Taco or turkey meals with family will be delayed as the Soldiers will first complete briefings, screenings, and evaluations at Camp Atterbury. Still, many friends and family members were pleased.
"You know we have a lot to be thankful for today," said Barb. "Our boys are home safe."
| Date Taken: | 11.28.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 11.28.2008 02:26 |
| Story ID: | 26896 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 296 |
| Downloads: | 265 |
This work, Hoosier troops trade weapons for family time, by MSG Jeff Lowry, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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