CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than 160 members of the West Virginia National Guard returned home Saturday following a nine-month deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The members of the 157th Military Police Company, 771st Troop Command Battalion, headquartered in Martinsburg and Moorefield, were greeted by friends and family members at several separate homecomings including in Charleston and Martinsburg.
“Overall, the 157th MP Company did an outstanding job with their mission,” Capt. Steven Frye, company commander said Saturday. “The brigade commander and I met prior to our departure and he congratulated our company as being one of the strongest in his brigade. I could not be happier with how well our Soldiers performed and I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
Frye said the soldiers adjusted in the midst of the pandemic.
“When COVID-19 was recognized as a pandemic and the DoD began mitigation measures, our Soldiers adapted their mission set to continue to provide safe, legal, and humane treatment for detainees,” Frye said.
The mission was in conjunction with Joint Task Force – Guantanamo and its prisoner detention efforts.
Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito all issued statements welcoming the soldiers home.