An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Nov. 30, 2010

First Florida Guardsmen return home from Iraq

By Capt. Kurt Van Slooten Florida National Guard

HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga., - The 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team's first flight home was greeted here by the commanding general of First Army Division East as well as Florida National Guard leaders with words of encouragement and job well done.

Maj. Gen. Mick Bednarek, Division East commanding general, Air Force Maj. Gen. Emmett Titshaw, Jr., adjutant general of the Florida National Guard, and Maj. Gen. Don Tyre, assistant adjutant general of the Florida Guard, shook hands with each of the 152 Soldiers early on Nov. 28 as they got off the plane stepped foot back on American soil.

After accounting for sensitive items and watching a video providing an overview of the demobilization process the Florida Soldiers would follow, they were bused to Cottrell Field on Fort Stewart for their homecoming ceremony and to start their demobilization.

"Meeting the standard of Focused Soldier Care is our number-one priority throughout the demobilization," said Bednarek. "No Soldier will leave Fort Stewart until all his or her needs have been satisfactorily validated and addressed."

The 188th Infantry Brigade has partnered with Joint Forces Headquarters - Florida, Fort Stewart Garrison Command, Fort Stewart U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, Fort Stewart U.S. Army Dental Activity and Defense Finance and Accounting Service to respond to the 53rd's demobilization requirements.

All of the units involved expressed their commitment to assisting the Soldiers of the 53rd to complete the tasks of the First Army demobilization process.

"We have worked closely with the 53rd IBCT and the Florida Joint Forces Headquarters to clearly assess, understand and prepare for individual Soldier reintegration needs," said Col. Robert A. Warburg, 188th Infantry Brigade commander. "Special emphasis has been placed on medical and behavioral health issues, as well as other potential challenges facing these redeploying Citizen-Soldiers."

Florida's largest National Guard unit, the "Gator Brigade," with about 2,500 Soldiers, served nine months in Kuwait and Iraq under Operation Iraqi Freedom during the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...