National Guard unit gets big welcome home from Afghanistan
More than 300 Nevada National Guard soldiers returned to Las Vegas on Sunday, completing a yearlong deployment that sent them to Afghanistan where they built, installed and maintained the largest communication network in the war zone.
For twins Kamee Sills and Kelsi Washington, specialists in the 422nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, the tour was a test of their mettle and endurance.
For husband and wife Spc. Brian Aleman and Sgt. Kristle Aleman, it was about working together in the combat theater even though they were stationed about 100 miles apart.
And, for Spc. Shaari Roland, a single mom who left her 1-year-old daughter with relatives in Las Vegas, Sunday’s homecoming at Mandalay Bay was a true mother-and-child reunion.
"It was a life-changer that helped me grow up," Roland, 25, said about her deployment before doors opened and families rushed to their seats while the soldiers, clad in camouflage uniforms, stood at parade rest at the front of the ballroom.
Her daughter, Kaitlyn, now 2, smiled at her mom while in the arms of Roland’s sister, Stephanie Stark, who struggled to keep the little girl from bolting beyond the third row during the ceremony that featured nine speakers.
When the commander shouted, "Dismissed," Kaitlyn darted across the carpet with outstretched arms while her mother knelt to hug her.
It was a scene repeated a few hundred times by mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, husbands, wives, grandparents and friends who packed the South Seas ballroom.
Dominique McNally was anxious to see his nieces, the 22-year-old twins, Sills and Washington.
Their mother, Nadine Elliott, beamed with pride.
"They wanted to serve the country," she said. "When they were sending both of them over, I was hesitant but they were there together."
Sills was "just happy to be home" after the long, tiring tour that had some eye-opening experiences.
"We had a few close calls with rocket attacks," she said about their assignment in Kandahar.
Her sister, Washington, agreed. "It had its ups and downs like everything. But you work together and eat together and stay together and cry together," she said.
Said Mom: "They were ready to come home."
For the Alemans, going to the war zone was a testament to their marriage. They had served for three years in the same unit before they were married in October 2010.
For Brian Aleman, reaching the front was a goal that came to fruition. He had been ready to fight for the United States since the sixth grade, when he watched on television the airliners hijacked by terrorists crash into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Although they hadn’t yet been married a year when they left for training on Jan. 7, 2011, and arrived in Afghanistan on March 28, they were together only three days.
Brian was sent to Zabul to conduct Task Force Mercury network operations and Kristle stayed in Kandahar to monitor the heart of the network that provided communication to all U.S. and coalition troops through phones, radios and satellite systems.
"Basically, if it was anything that involved talking, we supported it," Brian said.
Overall, the 485 soldiers in the battalion — including more than 120 out of Casa Grande, Ariz. — completed 14,000 hours of work and 50 cable-installation missions, all without casualties or serious injuries.
Gov. Brian Sandoval thanked them for their service and said "every soldier in this room is now a part of history."
"We are so proud of you and so glad to have you back safe and sound," he said. "Today more than ever, home means Nevada."
Nevada Army National Guard commander, Brig. Gen. Frank Gonzales, having been to Afghanistan, noted that the 422nd soldiers were in "some of the most miserable areas I’ve ever been in but they made the best of it."
The battalion’s overseas commander, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Hansen, said looking over the room at the soldiers’ families and friends "gives me goose bumps. Today is a great day. We’re back on American soil."
"To say I’m proud of them would be grossly understated."
Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
