Published: September 14, 2009 09:55 am      

Mission complete: Members of 856th home from Iraq

JOHNSTOWN — Their duty in Iraq is now history, but members of the 856th Engineering battalion can take satisfaction in knowing they were creating history, their leader said.



“Job well done,” Sgt. 1st Class Brian Koontz of Johnstown told the local troops during Sunday’s homecoming celebration in Richland Township.

“You are now part of history – the history of the citizen soldier,” Koontz continued.

“You also made history: First Reserve or National Guard unit in the country to be given the Stryker – first Stryker Brigade ever from the Reserve to deploy.

“We impressed everybody.”

Hundreds of family members and other well-wishers lined the parking lot behind the Airport Road Armory for Sunday’s emotional homecoming.

The local National Guard members left their homes last September to begin training for deployment.

They departed for Iraq in December as part of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard 56th Stryker Brigade, built around the Army’s new eight-wheeled, armored vehicle.

“It has been a long year,” said Kathy Ross, the mother of a Guardsman.

Ross is a leader in the Family Readiness Group, which coordinated local support for the troops.

The support was much appreciated, Koontz said.

Care packages, letters and cards helped keep morale high under adverse conditions.

During the dismissal, Koontz told the soldiers to thank their families and friends.

“It was their love and their support that enabled us to do it,” Koontz said, reminding the troops how extended training events often disrupt their families’ lives.

“The ‘weekend warrior’ is no more,” Koontz said. “We know that. Many weeks and many months are spent in training even before we left last year to enable us to complete our mission. It was their support and their love that made us get through it – and their prayer.

“So thank them.”

The engineers spent much of their deployment clearing roads to protect the Strykers’ missions in the Taji region north of Baghdad. In addition, the soldiers trained Iraqi army troops and helped fortify local bases.

“With the changing dynamics, they are moving into a phase where they can stand up a little more on their own,” Koontz said of the Iraqi troops.

Although most of the battalion arrived home to Johnstown, Punxsutawney and several other communities Sunday, a few are still in transit, Koontz said, reminding those at the homecoming to continue praying for their safety.