Hello and goodbye for Fort Hood troops

Houston Chronicle:

Bonnie Rodriguez and her kids huddled with dozens of others as icy rain fell onto Fort Hood's Cooper Field, awaiting the end of another deployment.

But this reunion Saturday morning was different from all the others that troops and families of the 1st Cavalry Division have seen in nearly nine years of the long and bitter Iraq War.

It probably was the very best Christmas present they ever could have, for the Iraq War was finally over and these troops were the last to leave the country days ago.

"I'm tired, exhausted but relieved he's home," said Rodriguez, 27, of San Antonio's northwest side. "No more worries, no more stress."

There was reason for joy, but only to a point. Though just under 200 soldiers with the 1st Cav's 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion closed out one war as they marched toward cheering families waving American flags, another conflict awaits.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sylvester Price, 27, of Harker Heights, finished his second tour of Iraq on Christmas Eve. Standing with their children Trey, 4, and Ali, 3, his wife, Claudia Price said she was excited by his arrival but girding herself for his departure to Afghanistan.

"He's already got his orders," she said. "I'm in the military as well. I'm used to it. You've got to do it. It's our job."

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It is a good time to remember the sacrifices our troops and their families endure for us.