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A final farewell to troops

Jul-29-2005 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner

Officials touted Thursday's deployment ceremony for the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team at the Fort Wainwright Army Post as the final farewell for the 3,800 soldiers who will begin leaving this weekend for a yearlong tour in Iraq.

But for some, the ceremony was a turning point after 18 months of preparation and worry. In 12 months, the brigade should begin returning to family and friends.

"We don't have to talk about him leaving anymore," Jacqueline Moore said of her husband, a staff sergeant with the brigade. "Now we can talk about him coming home."

Moore was among 2,000 to 3,000 family, friends, dignitaries, community leaders and members of the public who ringed the brigade as its members stood in formation for the ceremony. In all, more than 6,000 people were on hand to mark Alaska's largest deployment since the Vietnam War. [...]


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