Photo Gallery: 25th Infantry returns to Hawaii

From a high of 170,000 combat troops in Iraq in 2007, U.S. force levels dropped to 33,000 in early November, 8,000 in early December, and then to a few thousand last week.

On Saturday, the last remaining 68 Schofield Barracks soldiers and about 84 Air Force and other Army personnel flew out of southern Iraq on two aircraft, followed by 480 soldiers who drove into Kuwait.

They were the only U.S. combat forces left. With their departure, the nearly 9-year-old war was over.

The Schofield soldiers, including Maj. Gen. Bernard Champoux, commander of the 25th Infantry Division and the last division-level commander in Iraq, cased the Tropic Lightning battle flag at Ali Airbase in Tallil and most reached their families Sunday night after stops in Qatar, then a remote island base used by the United States, and then Japan.

Champoux started the deployment a year ago with 800 headquarters soldiers, but whittled that number down to 67 staff members as the drawdown proceeded.

Sixteen of those Schofield soldiers flew to Kuwait Saturday to join others already there, and the last element of about 42 Hawaii soldiers are expected back from Kuwait on Wednesday.

Champoux said it was a diverse, complicated mission. The soldiers under his command — 23,000 at one point — worked to strengthen Iraqi security forces, transitioned the military effort to the State Department, and carried on their mission as U.S. bases closed and thousands of troops left Iraq.

"At the end of it, the way I look at it, is we have created this huge opportunity for both Iraq and the region — and I’d say that’s pretty historic," Champoux said.

The Schofield headquarters element had no casualties, but Champoux, who eventually had operational control over central and southern Iraq, lost soldiers from other units.

The soldiers marched into a hangar in formation at Wheeler Army Airfield to the cheers of family members at 7:16 p.m. Sunday.

Knowing that Schofield soldiers were some of the last U.S. troops of the Iraq War wasn’t a priority for Melissa Barnhouse. Her husband, Staff Sgt. Timothy Barnhouse, 31, was home.

"It’s a relief to finally have him home and finally have all our soldiers home from Iraq," she said.

The Hawaii Air National Guard picked up 52 of the island warriors in a C-17 cargo carrier named the Spirit of Kamehameha at an island base the Air Force prefers not to disclose and flew the troops home the last two legs of the trip.

There was no celebration by the Hawaii troops on the cargo jet at the end of a war with no clear victory, only the reflection that they had been part of a long conflict to try to bring democracy to Iraq. The war cost $1 trillion, with 4,474 dead and 32,226 wounded. More than 215 with Hawaii ties died.

Staff Sgt. Charles Reneau, 28, spent 51 months in Iraq on four deployments that bookended the war.

He was at Camp New York in Kuwait in 2003 when the war started.

"We got the word and walked across the berm and went through Karbala and Baghdad airport and went up to Mosul after that," the Arkansas man recalled. He was in Iraq again in 2005-06 and 2007-08, and was on the most recent deployment that began last December.

On a previous deployment, a roadside bomb killed the three other soldiers in his Humvee, but Reneau walked away without a scratch.

"I think we left it a lot better place than when we got there, with the freedoms they have now, and the ability for them to run their own government," Reneau said.

Capt. Matt Hills, 28, of Lisle, Ill., spent 18 consecutive months in Iraq, first with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and then with Champoux’s headquarters element.

He studied international relations in college and said he wanted to witness the transition of the effort in Iraq from the Defense Department to the State Department.

Hills described as "surreal" the departure of all U.S. combat forces.

"I didn’t think this (U.S. military presence) was actually going to end," he said.

The Hawaii Air Guard crew hung Christmas lights in the cargo plane and handed out Hawaiian Host chocolates and candy canes to the returning soldiers — who cheered when the plane touched down at 5:20 p.m. at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Capt. Jason Lilly, one of the pilots, said, "Knowing this will be the last time they have to go to Iraq — I think that will be my Christmas present."

On the flight, the soldiers were arrayed around a Humvee and trailer, several large steel shipping containers and rucksacks that were secured to the floor. Many stretched out on the floor to sleep, creating a human jigsaw puzzle.

It wasn’t first class, but the soldiers had less and less in Iraq as mess halls and other amenities closed down. There hadn’t been much in the way of hot meals since Nov. 20, the soldiers said.

"You don’t realize how much you crave vegetables and fruit," said Command Sgt. Maj. Ray Devens.

"I’ve been dreaming of an apple for about three weeks now," added Lt. Col. William Fairclough.

Lt. Gen. Francis Wiercisnski, head of the Army in the Pacific, and Maj. Gen. Darryll Wong, head of the Hawaii National Guard, were among a delegation greeting the soldiers and congratulating them on their mission.

Sgt. 1st Class Jovan Velasquez, 29, returned home to his wife and three sons, ages 7, 4, and 2.
“It’s a big deal” being home for Christmas, the North Carolina man said. “My boys are getting to the age where (they know) Christmas is a holiday time and family is together.”

He spent two Christmases away from his family in the past, including last year. Before that, his kids weren’t old enough to understand his absence.

“They are getting to the age — ‘Hey, is Daddy going to be here,’ “ Velasquez said.
He will indeed.

“Being there to spend that time with them — it’s great,” he said.