250 airmen get hero's welcome after tour

HILL AIR FORCE BASE — After a four-month tour in Iraq and a 25-hour return trip, an emotional Victor Seguinot was able to hold his baby girl, Juliet, for the first time.

She was born 16 days after he left for Balad, Iraq, with around 300 airmen from 34th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing.

In January a dozen F-16s, maintenance crews and pilots deployed to the area to provide air support for Coalition ground forces to keep security in the region and surveillance of the Iraqi infractors.

Seguinot said being gone during his daughter's birth was one of the hardest things he has gone through. But he was able to be there, on the phone, in the delivery room with his wife, Brittnee.

"I wanted to be there too holding her hand through it — but I got to hear (Juliet) cry for the first time," said Seguinot as he held her minutes after walking off the plane Thursday. "This is just incredible. . . . I went to serve my country and now I get to be back home with my wife, my daughter."

The plane arrived around mid- night and hundreds stood cheering on the soggy pavement outside the hangar with balloons and flowers — some applying last-minute lipstick — as their husbands, wives and friends exited the plane.

Valerie Vandeveer, wife of the deployed squad commander, said it's never easy to send a loved one off, but this time was by far the hardest because of the fact that they would be in combat.

"For some it was a first time being deployed and for others it was their eighth time, but it was still the hardest for everyone — not because they would be gone for 120 days but it was the combat issue."

While at Balad pilots flew missions every day and the base frequently faced mortar fire.

For many families the hardest part about a deployment is having to run a household and raise children with one parent gone.

Scarlett Woodword said it was difficult to explain to her younger children why their dad was gone. "All they know is he left on a plane," said Woodward, who has four children. "The kids really miss him."

After Sara Bauman's husband was deployed, she left for a few months to spend time with family out of state.

"It's hard. Your life isn't normal the whole time while they are gone," said Bauman.

But Donita Relethford, whose husband is near retirement, said it is all part of being a military spouse. You can't think about how difficult it is, you make the other wives your family and do what you have to do, she said.

Most of the airmen were exhausted but brought smiles, hugs and comments on how good it was to be back — "how great it looks when you get off and see green."

Staff Sgt. Lissa Quick said the best thing about being back was the ability to take advantage of the freedom and safety that they didn't have in a combat zone.

"Here you know you are free and safe," said Quick. "It's not having to wear a Kevlar helmet and flak (bulletproof) vest every time you go out." And for Quick, after being in 104-degree weather, stepping off the plane into the chilly Utah night was a breath of fresh air.

A remaining 50 airmen will return this weekend with the 12 F-16s.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com

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