JAK
Photos and Story by Spc. Michelle Waters
[caption id="attachment_1906" align="alignleft" width="600" caption="Members of the 2113th Transportation Company are honored during their welcome home ceremony on June 20th in Paducah, Ky. The 2113th spent six months in Iraq with Tennessee's 278th Heavy Combat Team."]
[caption id="attachment_1907" align="alignright" width="200" caption="2nd Lt. Timothy A. Lee, a platoon leader for the 2113th Transportation Company, greets his four-month old daughter, Amy, for the first time during the 2113th welcome home ceremony on June 20th in Paducah, Ky. Lee was deployed for six months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom."]
PADUCAH, Ky. (June 23, 2010)-– After a six-month deployment, 126 members of the 2113th Transportation Company returned home from Iraq to a joyful crowd on June 20th in Paducah, Ky.
“I want everyone to know just how successful these Soldiers were in their mission” said Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, Adjutant General for Kentucky.
The 2113th was attached to the 1st Squadron, 278th Armored Calvary Regiment based out of Tennessee. The 2113th covered some 7,500 miles of enemy territory providing security to U.S. and foreign national convoys in Iraq, and supported base closure efforts in pulling more units out of Iraq. They also helped turn in over 40 million dollars worth of equipment that have been collecting since the beginning of the war.
“The Soldiers of the 2113th are the most professional Soldiers that I have ever had the privilege to serve with,” said Capt. John F. Harvey, commander of the 2113th.
The 2113th returned home early from the deployment as a response to President Barack Obama’s promise to have no more than 50,000 Soldiers in Iraq by the end of 2010.