March-based soldiers return from year-long deployment

Published July 19, 2012
By Sgt. Tracy Ellingsen
304th Sustainment Brigade

MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. -- They waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, after a one-year deployment to the Middle East, soldiers from the 380th Transportation Detachment were reunited with loved ones and friends at Ontario International Airport on July 12.

The soldiers flew in from Fort Hood, Texas, where they had spent a week out processing and going through medical checks. Before arriving at Fort Hood, the unit had spent the last 11 months coordinating transportation for coalition forces in both Kuwait and Afghanistan.

"I'm nervous," said Brandy Villacorta, as she waited for her husband Staff Sgt. Nelson Villacorta to come off the plane. "It feels like he has been gone forever."

For the Villacortas, the first order of business was a good night sleep after a week of traveling. After that, Brandy had some plans for her recently returned soldier.

"There's always a honey-do list," she said. "This place fell apart as soon as he left."

The March Air Reserve Base headquartered unit will take the next few weeks to reunite with their families before beginning a series of seminars in the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, which links recently returned veterans with resources and programs to assist with the return to civilian life.