FORT LIBERTY, N.C. — A special ceremony at Fort Liberty on Thursday honored the return of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. 

What You Need To Know

  • There are 1,600 paratroopers in the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade

  • The brigade is a part of the 82nd Airborne Division

  • While all the soldiers are back home at Fort Liberty, some of their equipment is still en route back to the Army post

The 1,600 paratroopers have been deployed to several countries in the Middle East for nine months.

At the ceremony, the brigade’s flags or colors were uncased and raised.

Some of the families of the soldiers were at this ceremony. Any deployment, whether it’s short or long, is always difficult for soldiers. But it may be even more difficult for the families they leave behind during their service overseas.

“This is our fifth deployment,” Amanda Sulpizio said. Her husband is a lieutenant colonel in the brigade.

“And it absolutely never gets easier. They miss important things. Graduation, weddings, things like that, that we want and need them at,” she said.

Part of the brigade’s service involves flying different helicopters. The brigade commander said during the deployment they operated in 11 different locations throughout the Middle East.

Now is a time of transition for these soldiers and their families. It's a sometimes complicated transition from being away from home to being back at home.

“Actually, this time we did it well,” Veronica Wardlow said. Her husband is also a lieutenant colonel with the 82nd Combat Brigade.

"We did. It was very quick. The kids would leave the couch sitting by Dad and come and ask me questions. And I said, 'Nope, go ask your Dad. He’s home now,'” Wardlow said.