Air Guard Back Home From Kuwait

By ROSE POST
SALISBURY POST

‘‘It was raining and yukky and cold, but I don’t think anyone was cold.’’

And today Debbie Martin’s voice sounds like bright sunshine telling the story of the return of Salisbury’s Army National Guard Co. E, 130th Aviation Unit, which has been stationed in Kuwait since September.

‘‘It was wonderful!’’

Wonderful for her family Friday night when the plane bringing her husband, Staff Sgt. Kenny Martin, home after more than five months in Kuwait, arrived at Pope Air Force Base at Fort Bragg.

And just as wonderful on Wednesday and Thursday and Saturday nights when the other four planes landed.

The commander, Maj. Marybel Johnson, met every plane to welcome the Guardsmen, activated on Aug. 29 and sent to Kuwait in late September, home again.

And the weather didn’t matter Friday night. Sleep didn’t matter. Or jet lag.

It was so late when Martin got there, his wife says, that they decided to stay in a hotel and come home Saturday morning really early so daddy could see 9-year-old son Justin play basketball with the South Rowan Raiders.

‘‘We finally made it to bed like at 3 in the morning – the kids crashed about 2 – and I was afraid to close to my eyes. I was afraid he wouldn’t be there.

‘‘And then we got up at 9 and loaded up and rushed to the game – it was at 12:30, and we won! We skunked ‘em! And daddy was very proud!’’

And it just kept on being wonderful.

The Guardsmen have been at Fort Bragg this week ‘‘out processing,’’ says Capt. David Rose, who heads the unit here, taking care of getting all their records and equipment unpacked and checked.

They will be honored Sunday at 4 p.m. with a welcome home celebration at the Air National Guard Armory near the airport and have invited 22 local dignitaries as well as their families.

Maj. Gen. Gerald A. Rudisill Jr. will speak, but the program will be brief, the captain said.

‘‘These guys want to go home,’’ he said.

Co. E sent 32 from this unit and eight others who were attached to it for rotation duty, providing the maintenance on Apaches, Black Hawks and Hueys – helicopters that make up part of the U.S. military operation close to the Iraqi border.

‘‘We’ve got some work that we’ve got to get done,’’ he said. ‘‘If it doesn’t get done, they’ll have to come back to do it.’’

But he hopes they’ll be ready to return to their one-weekend-a-month duty after Sunday.

And everybody’s glad because everybody was worried, Debbie Martin said. They’ve all felt the continuing tensions between the United Nations and Iraq, which led to America bombing of Iraq, she said. ‘‘We were worried mainly because of what Iraq could do to retaliate. And there’s always a chance they can call that unit back. You worry.’’

The worry was somewhat lessened, she says, because they stayed in constant contact by e-mail.

‘‘The computer was such a wonderful tool for us,’’ she said. ‘‘He took a laptop, so it didn’t seem so far away, and my 9-year-old has really gotten good with his typing.’’

Having her husband home again now has ‘‘been awesome.’’

And Sgt. Martin, who works at the armory, is already back to being daddy.

‘‘Kenny’s helped coach other years. Now baseball’s about ready to start, and Kenny has already signed up to coach that to try to make up for everything he’s missed.’’