Fort Rucker soldiers return from Iraq

Posted earlier this week in the Dothan Eagle:

Jayden Lacy was just 9 months old when her dad deployed to Iraq. Today, she will celebrate her second birthday, this one with her father by her side. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. William Lacy was one of nearly 180 soldiers with the 46th Engineer Battalion B Company who returned to Fort Rucker on Thursday night to a hero’s welcome.

“It’s a great feeling, but I really can’t explain it,” Lacy said. “I’ve been over in Iraq for 15 months, and now that I’m back, it’s like starting all over again.”

The soldiers had been deployed in Iraq for 15 months, a time frame that was agonizing for family members.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Millicent Vickers, who was at Thursday’s ceremony to pick up her husband, Frederick Vickers. “It’s been lonely, but very strengthening. I’m very proud of myself, because it strengthened me as a person to be so long without him.”

Doug Roach returned to see his wife, Nicole, waiting with open arms. It didn’t take him long to embrace her, and with their 8-month-old baby, Cale, they are looking forward to the future.

“I just felt like it would never be over, and now that it is, I don’t know how to explain it,” said Nicole.

Doug didn’t have the same problem finding the right words.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” he said.

Lacy’s wife, Melissa, said her own military experience helped her deal with her husband’s deployment.

“It’s been tough, but I’m also in the military, so it keeps me busy,” she said. “I’ve just tried to stay busy to keep my mind off of it.”

It wasn’t just wives and husbands waiting on the soldiers to return, though.

Willie Blue has been worrying about his son, Pfc. Ryan Blue, for the duration of his deployment. He couldn’t hide his joy or his pride at Thursday night’s ceremony.

“I’ve been on the edge, because from day to day, you watch the news and you don’t know if there’s been a fatality. I’m just very glad he could make it back home alive,” he said. “The biggest thing I’m proud of, though, is he’s defending our country.”

That pride is shared by many of the families of the other returning soldiers.

“My mom just can’t wait to see him, my brother’s excited to see him, and my dad is very proud of him, that he’s been able to support me, because not many of our peers have made it,” Vickers said.

William Lacy hadn’t been able to process the emotion of his return until he boarded his plane. Then, the reality of the trip set in.

“Between missions and still working, it really doesn’t dawn on you until you’re on the plane halfway here,” Lacy said. “Then it sets in.”

According to a U.S. Army press release, the battalion’s primary mission was to conduct reconstruction projects, provide security and conduct joint construction projects with Iraqi forces.