Smiles greet soldiers returning from Iraq

After a year of providing convoy security throughout Iraq, nearly 110 soldiers from the Nevada Army National Guard's 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry returned home on Saturday.

While the politics of the war might be hotly debated at home, the soldiers who had volunteered for deployment were consumed with getting the job done and going home, said Sgt. Robert Chavez.

"As soldiers, we try to stay out of politics," he said while holding his two children for the first time in a year. "We're there for each other. We're there to make sure each one of us comes home to be there with our own families."

Chavez saw the smiling faces of 17 friends and family members in the crowd of about 200 awaiting the unit's arrival at the Clark Country Armory.

The tightknit group of nearly 85 soldiers were escorted at 10 a.m. from the airport to the armory by Las Vegas police.

A smaller group arrived in Reno at the Plumb Lane Armory later in the afternoon.

Purple Heart recipient Staff Sgt. David Schalles, who was hit twice by Improvised Explosive Devices over a 10-day period, said most of his fellow soldiers volunteered for deployment because they wanted to use the training they had received together and were confident their skills could help in the war effort.

It didn't take long for the soldiers to recognize the dangers associated with serving in Iraq. "You get there and you're ready to be gung-ho, to do great things and kick butt, but you soon realize that you have a job to do, a serious job, and people get hurt," Schalles said.

Although the unit had no fatalities, it often came under direct attack from insurgents because of the nature of the assignment, said April Conway, a Nevada National Guard spokeswoman. The unit traveled some 3.2 million miles, visiting every forward operating base in the country and providing security for supply convoys.

Seven Purple Hearts, 82 combat action badges, and nearly a dozen army achievement commendation awards were given to battalion members after the tour.

Spc. Mark Bright said that when danger arose, the soldiers' training took over. "It's amazing when something happens, you just do what you need to do. It isn't until afterward, when you realized what just happened, that you get scared."

Many of the family members they left behind, said they lived with fear.

Bright's fiancée, Patricia Sorensen, who also has two nephews in the military, refused to watch the news.

Ana Garita, wife of Spc. Orvil Garita, said her heart skipped a beat every time a soldier walked into the doctor's office where she works.

Lynn Slate, mother of Sgt. Jason Malcom, said she hadn't slept in a year and the stress had caused her to lose 90 pounds.

"It's just horrible, but you know it's a good cause and you are proud of what they do out there," Slate said.

This was the third major deployment for the 221st Cavalry.

Before its partial deployment to Iraq, the unit spent two years at Fort Irwin in California role-playing insurgent forces at the National Training Center. Previously, they had been deployed to provide security at various locations throughout Nevada.

"After Fort Irwin they didn't have to go anywhere," Conway said. "They didn't have to do anything but go home, but not only did they raise their hands to enlist, and raised their hands a second time to go to Fort Irwin, but they raised their hands a third time to go to Iraq."

Conway said Guard troops often volunteer as units to go overseas out of a desire to go beyond their initial assignments. Part of it, she said, is the camaraderie formed among soldiers during their initial assignments that makes them want to stay together.

While he doesn't plan on volunteering again, Chavez echoed Conway's remarks, saying he'd go to Iraq again if he could return with the same group of soldiers. "I'd return in a heartbeat," he said. "We're like family, like brothers."