CHERRY POINT, N.C. - Approximately 45 Marines and Sailors with Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2 returned to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point May 22, 2014 after a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan.
“It feels great to be back in the states,” said Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, the detachment senior enlisted UAV operator, with VMU-2.
During the deployment, the Marines used the squadron’s unmanned aerial vehicles to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to the Marine ground forces who were assisting the Afghan National Army and training them to take over once the Marines were gone, explained Gonzalez.
“We completed our mission,” said Gonzalez. “But most importantly, we brought all of our Marines home to their families.”
The returning service members were greeted by a cheering crowd of proud friends and loved ones at the squadron’s hangar.
“This was my first deployment, and the months have been long,” said Staff Sgt. Daryl Ward, a UAV operator with VMU-2. “Now that I’m back, I feel so relieved, excited and numb; it feels like it’s not really happening.”
Ward and his wife Brittany echoed what nearly every other family was saying about their Marine returning – that they are proud of what the unit accomplished and are looking forward to spending time together as a family again.
“I couldn’t put in to words how well the Marines performed,” said Gonzalez. “It is time for the Marines to return to their families. The mission was a success and all the work the Marines did was incredibly valued.”