CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia National Guard received an emotional welcome home Saturday evening at the air base in Charleston after being deployed to the Middle East.
Friends and family welcomed home 120 soldiers, members of the Guard’s 111th Engineer Brigade, located in Eleanor. They were first deployed last February. They spent much of their time operating out of Camp Buehring, Kuwait.
“We are so happy to have our Soldiers back into the arms of their families, especially right as the holiday season begins,” state Adjutant General Bill Crane said. “Deployments are always challenging, for those serving and those left behind on the home front. We are thrilled to have all our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, moms and dads, back home safe and with loved ones after a mission well done.”
Soldiers with the 111th completed 500 missions in nine countries including Kuwait, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
One of the missions was assisting in the evacuation of thousands of Afghans during Operation Allies Refuge,
According to the Guard, the 111th “designed and constructed ‘Freedom Village,’ a holding and processing encampment which supported 5,000 vulnerable Afghans in Kuwait. The 111th planned and oversaw the village construction to include constructing lodging, medical, dining and in and out-processing facilities.
“The unit further assisted the out-processing of over 5,400 Afghans through the village, including issuance of Special Immigrant Visas, as well as providing command and control, medical, logistical, and public affairs support.”
Storms, winds, and rain could not hold back the homecoming for our @111thENBDE today as they returned from a 9-month deployment to the Middle East!! Families & friends gathered to welcome their Soldiers home to our Mountain State! See all the pics here: https://t.co/G3sj20E8JL pic.twitter.com/idEHSphx6E
— WV National Guard (@WVNationalGuard) December 12, 2021
Brigade Commander Col. Robert Kincaid Jr. said he’s proud of the work the soldiers accomplished.
“The Soldiers of the 111th Engineer Brigade are extremely grateful to have been given the privilege of assisting those in need during Operation Allies Refuge, and to being there for them at such a crucial time. Serving as the brigade commander of the Central Command’s Theater Engineer Brigade has been the opportunity of a lifetime and I could not have done it without the Soldiers of this unit,” Kincaid said in a National Guard news release.