Homecoming

Families greet soldiers at Fort Dix

By: Cara Latham
   FORT DIX — A total of 148 National Guard soldiers, including those from the Company D, 250th Brigade Support Battalion in Bordentown Township, were reunited with their families Tuesday after a 20-month deployment to Iraq.
   The soldiers, who were deployed in late September and early October 2005, landed at McGuire Air Force Base at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Kryn Westhoven, spokesman for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. They were then taken to meet their families at the Joint Training and Training Development Center at Fort Dix.
   "These are the last New Jersey Army National Guard soldiers that were deployed overseas," Mr. Westhoven said. "So now, all our soldiers are back home."
   A welcome home ceremony, which will include a visit from Gov. Jon Corzine, will be held for the troops this Saturday at the base to mark the end of their active-duty periods.
   Mr. Westhoven said the troops were working in the Baghdad area and on several of the forward operating bases.
   The soldiers from the Bordentown armory and those from Troop C, 117th Reconnaissance Surveillance Target Acquisition, were part of the 1-34th Brigade Combat Team, Minnesota Army National Guard, which was extended for the troop surge.
   While all of the state’s soldiers have returned from Iraq, "we’re anticipating some deployments toward the later end of this year and looking out into 2009 or 2010," Mr. Westhoven said.