Members of Guard unit back in U.S. Maine-based 133rd on its way home

FORT DRUM, N.Y. – After a yearlong deployment in Iraq, 162 members of the Maine Army National Guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion were back on U.S. soil Thursday.

Members of the battalion’s Alpha and Bravo companies, plus an additional 40 New York Army National Guard troops attached to the 133rd, landed Wednesday night on Fort Drum’s frigid tarmac after a 12-hour flight from Kuwait. The rest of the battalion’s 548 members are scheduled to return by Friday.

The initial arrivals were clad in desert camouflage uniforms as they walked off the chartered MD11 aircraft and into the terminal, where they were greeted with the theme song from the movie “Indiana Jones.”

“It’s like a dream come true. It doesn’t feel real,” said Spc. San Pao of Portland, moments after stepping off the plane. “Hopefully we’ll wake up tomorrow morning and it will still be real.”

About two dozen military officials met the returning troops, who lined up to use telephones to call family members.

“It was great to land, but we’re not home yet,” said Pfc. Tracy Jipson of Gorham as she waited in line with others to call her parents. “We won’t be home until we reach Maine,” she said.

The troops begin a demobilization process and are expected to be back in their home state by the end of next week.

The 133rd was based in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where its mission included an array of construction projects ranging from new roads and bridges to school renovations and new health clinics.

Three members of the unit were killed during the deployment, one by a roadside bomb and two during a suicide bombing at a mess hall.

Many of the soldiers will be presented with medals and commendations before they return to civilian lives. Troops earned 35 Bronze Stars and 42 Purple Hearts, said Sgt. 1st Class John Keene of Augusta, and the entire battalion has been nominated for a Meritorious Unit award.

Family members have been discouraged from traveling to Fort Drum to greet the troops.

“Wait a little longer,” Keene said with a smile, “and then we’ll get them home.”