'It’s a special occasion': Fort Bragg families welcome home 82nd Airborne Divison paratroopers
FORT BRAGG — Another wave of Fort Bragg paratroopers were greeted with cheers and hugs at Green Ramp on Wednesday as they were welcomed back from a nearly five-month deployment in support of NATO in Europe.
The paratroopers were part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Divison, and were deployed to Poland since February after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Holding two dozen red roses to welcome home her husband Sgt. Tim Birdsong was Mariah Birdsong.
“I just felt like women always get flowers, and I felt like maybe he’d want flowers,” she said. "It’s a special occasion. I just like going all out for him.”
Mariah Birdsong said the couple are high school sweethearts, but this is their first deployment since they’ve been married.
She said that during the deployment she grew close to fellow military spouse Valeria Vargas because both didn’t know much about the military or the deployment process.
“I was crying hysterically at the first meeting we had and she saw me and said, ‘We should be friends,’” Birdsong said.
Both women said they can relax easier now that their husbands are home.
For Olesea Roan, deployment is a familiar routine.
She is also in the Army and has been deployed before, but this was the first deployment for her husband, she said.
“Being that I’m in the military, it was very helpful for us, but I missed him and am glad he’s back,” Olesea Roan said, as she clutched a large sign emblazoned with her husband's name, Capt. Alex Roan, over a subdued image of the American flag.
Maj. Olesea Roan, who is originally from Moldova in Eastern Europe and whose lineage is Ukrainian and Russian, said the deployment was personal.
“My mom’s Ukrainian and I have a lot of friends and family members in Ukraine, so I’ve been very close to all that's happening," she said. "I was happy that my husband was there to support them if needed."
Moments after the paratroopers marched into Green Ramp and stood at attention as the national anthem played, Capt. Roan rushed to embrace his wife after the command was given to dismiss the paratroopers from the formation.
“I’m just glad to be back with my wife since we’re both dual military,” Capt. Roan said. “She leaves here in a couple of months, so we’re just trying to get some good quality time together.”
Roan said he planned to eat a steak and go see the Fayetteville Woodpeckers play Thursday night.
“He’s missed American food very much,” his wife said. “In Europe, it’s very unusual to have steak. We also hope to have time to go swim in the ocean.”
Waiting for Staff Sgt. James Keen was his wife, Angelica, and 16-year-old son, Kenyon.
Angelica Keen said her husband has deployed to other countries before, but the deployment to Poland was different because of the rapid deployment. Paratroopers deployed in less than 24 hours after Pentagon officials announced Feb. 2 that the 82nd Airborne Division's immediate response force would deploy to Poland.
Kenyon said the departure was rough at first.
“But then we had to adapt to it, but now that he’s back it’s all better,” he said.
Keen said her husband had one request now that he’s back — to eat seafood.
Kenyon said he plans to spend time with his father, playing video games and exercising.
The mission
Col. Ricky Taylor, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team said though there were a lot of unknowns with the mission to Poland, leaders tried to be as transparent as possible with the paratroopers and their families.
“It was a bit of a challenge, but we did our best to make sure that families and paratroopers knew what was going on,” Taylor said.
During several news conferences in the past few months, former Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. paratroopers bolstered the eastern flank of NATO to send “a strong signal,” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and to reassure NATO allies.
President Joe Biden reiterated several times that American troops would not invade Ukraine.
'It’s been a long 140 days': Family, friends welcome 82nd Airborne Division troops home from Poland
'This is what we do': What Fort Bragg paratroopers say about latest deployment to Europe
Until last month, it was unknown how long paratroopers would be deployed.
During an April 24 news conference, Maj. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, said more than 4,700 soldiers in the division were deployed including those with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, the 1st Brigade, the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, and the 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade and Division Artillery.
An Army news release announced that about 4,200 soldiers with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will replace the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers.
Taylor said the deployment provided an opportunity for paratroopers to train with partners and allies in Europe.
“The big thing was showing that we are committed to our partners and allies across the globe,” he said.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: More 82nd Airborne Divison paratroopers return to Fort Bragg
