West Michigan soldiers welcomed home

WALKER, Mich. (WOOD) - December 21, 2008 - After 11 months apart, roughly 130 Michigan military families were reunited Sunday afternoon.

Heather Ott was just about the first person to rush down from the stands at the DeltaPlex in Walker, her daughter Alexa in her arms, to greet her soldier husband Sgt. Maj. Lester Ott.

"I couldn't ask for anything more. This is the best Christmas gift we could have asked for," Heather Ott said in an interview after Sunday's welcome ceremony for the Wyoming-based 125th Infantry Regiment, Charlie Company.

The Michigan Army National Guard soldiers spent just shy of a year at Camp Ramadi, Iraq providing security and police training.

As he stood during the ceremony, Lester Ott watched his daughter up in the stands "with a big smile on her face, anxious to come down."

"It was great to see her, see how she's grown," he said. The troops arrived at home after spending a brief time in Texas, where they trained before their departure.

A Texas transition from summer-like temperatures in Iraq still wasn't enough to eliminate the shock of Sunday's frigid temperatures and near-blizzard conditions.

Kent County Road Commission plows cleared a path for the buses that carried the troops from Ford International Airport to the DeltaPlex.

The soldiers weren't totally shielded from the cold. They had to walk to their buses.

"It was cold," Ott said with a smile.

"A huge shock," Maj. Robert Howard said. Howard got to see his son for the first time in months. And when he asked who was coming home for Christmas, his son Brendan responded quickly, "Daddy!"

It was one of the many reunions made possible when Capt. John Keelean, the company commander, announced the one word that marked the end of their service: "Dismissed!"

"It means we accomplished our mission and more importantly, we brought everybody home safely so it was pretty huge for us," Keelean said.

Charlie Company returned with no combat injuries.

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[carloslafrance1]

Honour to the brave!!!!