It has been two months since Major Dawn Brindle was able to hold her two boys, Jack and Quinn, in her arms.
“I tried to keep my thoughts focused, but I miss them and I’m glad to be home,” she said.
Brindle is just one of the 175 airmen returning home from Iraq at Andrews Air Force base in Maryland. All the men and women are a part of the 113th Wing, and all have come home safe.
“I’m excited to be home,” said Christine Sabotta, who works for the maintenance division in the 113th Wing. “I left for a good cause and it was a small sacrifice.”
Brindle’s husband is also in the military, so she said he understands these sacrifices. “He’s gone four to six months every year, so he said it was my turn.”
As family and friends embraced their loved ones, many airmen who have been deployed before said the conditions in Iraq have greatly improved since their first visit. This is the case for Jesse McCarley, who said the division was attacked a few times, but it was nothing compared with past deployments.
“I didn’t feel threatening as much as I did the last time, so it seems things are really shaping up there,” he said. “We were very lucky not to have any serious attacks happen to us.”