4th BCT begins returning to Bliss from Iraq

4th BCT begins returning to Bliss from Iraq
By Alicia A. Caldwell - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Nov 12, 2007 20:28:58 EST

BIGGS ARMY AIRFIELD, Texas — Adrian Word stared in disbelief, a nervous smile creeping over his freckled face, as his camouflaged mother walked toward him Monday.

He met her halfway, nearly knocking her over as the 9-year-old boy gave her a giant bear hug.

His brother, 10-year-old Anthony Word, smiled and pointed as he walked toward Adrian to join the emotional, unexpectedly early reunion.

The boys were in awe because their mom, Staff Sgt. Jennifer Word, wasn’t supposed to be among the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division’s 200 soldiers arriving Monday after spending a year in Iraq.

“She wasn’t supposed to be home until Christmas,” the staff sergeant’s mother, Donna Kleman, said as she waited for her daughter and the other soldiers to arrive. “The boys have no idea. They have no clue.”

Jennifer Word is among about 4,000 4th BCT soldiers who deployed to Iraq last fall. The soldiers spent just over a year in the combat zone during what has become the deadliest year on record for U.S. soldiers since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_blissoldiers_071112/