By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
The Salisbury-based 846th Transportation Co. of the U.S. Army Reserve returned Saturday to the United States after almost a year’s deployment in the Iraqi theater.
Details of a homecoming event, expected to be late in the week, will be released within the next couple of days. Part of the homecoming will be open to the public.
The close to 165 men and women of the company are going through their debriefing at Camp Atterbury in Columbus, Ind. They left Salisbury for their assignment on April 1, 2008.
“We have a lot of happy family members back here,” said Jennifer Welch, team leader for the Family Readiness Group. Her husband, Sgt. First Class Richard Rose, is a company member.
Members of the 846th Transportation Co. dubbed themselves the “Road Hawgs” and used a bulldog as their mascot.
The company, comprised mostly of drivers, logged a total of 1,811,913 miles on their missions, as they transported items such as ammunition, replacement parts, food, water and medical supplies.
There were no combat casualties among the soldiers, but a few members had to return early because of illnesses.
This was the company’s second deployment. It first went to Iraq in 2003-2004 during the height of the war. Because of a worsening economy, Welch said some of the soldiers coming back have lost their civilian jobs while they were deployed.