Paratroopers assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division salute during the National Anthem at Green Ramp on Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 20, 2015. The paratroopers returned from a nine-month deployment in support of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Anthony Hewitt/Released)
A Hero’s Welcome Where the mission ends… and home begins.
THE HERO’S WELCOME Then ranks soften. Rules fade. And the uniform becomes a bridge, not a barrier. This is the welcome they earned. Not for medals. Not for recognition. But to return.
Col. B. Don Farris, the commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, stands in front of the Paratroopers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, during the “Welcome Home” ceremony held after the final Soldier returned to Fort Bragg. The Paratroopers spent 15 months in Baghdad after being part of the troop surge.Paratroopers assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division salute during the national anthem at Green Ramp on Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 20, 2015. The paratroopers returned from a nine-month deployment to Iraq in support of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger/Released)More than 150 paratroopers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, return home from a nine-month deployment in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve at Green Ramp on Fort Bragg, March 1, 2016.Paratroopers assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division see their loved ones for the first time in nine months at Green Ramp at Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 11, 2015. The paratroopers returned from a nine-month deployment to Iraq in support of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger)Paratroopers from the final flight of personnel of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, stand in formation at Green Ramp, receiving a welcome home brief and instructions prior to in-processing back to Fort Bragg. The Devil Brigade left for a no-notice Immediate Response Force deployment on New Year’s Eve.
