3rd Infantry Division soldiers begin returning to Georgia

<p>The 19,000 members of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division are returning to Georgia after a yearlong tour in Iraq that cost the lives of 103 of their buddies, including two on Christmas Day.</p><p>The division lost 33 soldiers while leading the charge to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and was the first Army unit sent back for a second tour.</p><p>Headquartered at Fort Stewart, about 40 miles southeast of Savannah, the division has brigades at Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, and across the state at Fort Benning, adjacent to Columbus.</p><p>Already, 1,500 to 1,800 soldiers have returned to Hunter and Fort Stewart, including nearly 500 on Tuesday, and about 150 have returned at Fort Benning, officials say.</p><p>The majority will return in January and early February.</p><p>The Army hosts a hero's welcome for every group that returns, no matter how small the number and no matter what hour of the day or night. These welcome home ceremonies allow soldiers to reunite with parents, spouses and children.</p><p>"We're happy to have them back," said Fort Benning spokeswoman Elsie Jackson.</p><p>"When they come home, we get out there and welcome them _ midnight, 3 a.m., it doesn't matter," said Fort Stewart spokesman Richard Olson. "The families, believe me, they are there."</p><p>The 3rd Infantry returned to Iraq last January to help stabilize the long-oppressed Arab nation and give the Iraqis an opportunity to establish their first democratic government.</p><p>During their latest tour, 3rd ID soldiers carried out humanitarian and security missions in the Baghdad area, facing almost daily insurgent attacks with car bombs, roadside explosives and other weapons. The 103 soldiers who have died on the latest tour were either assigned or attached to the division.</p><p>Military leaders are already discussing plans with community leaders in Columbus, Hinesville and Savannah to host big welcome home bashes on both sides of the state, possibly in March, once all soldiers have returned.</p><p>Plans for those ceremonies, which could include parades, are still incomplete. The division's soldiers routinely march in Savannah's St. Patrick's Day parade, but this year there may be more of them than usual, Olson said.</p><p>The majority of the division's soldiers _ 15,000 _ are stationed at Fort Stewart, with the remainder at Hunter and Benning.</p><p>Their departure from Fort Stewart takes on toll on Hinesville businesses, such as barber shops and other establishments that cater to soldiers. Their return likely will unleash a spending spree that will boost the local economy.</p><p>But at Fort Benning, home to 3,500 members of the division's 3rd Brigade, the economic impact during deployments is less severe because thousands of other soldiers come there each year for infantry, airborne and ranger training.</p><p>Terry Taylor, a barber at the Off Post Barber Shop, near Fort Stewart, said he'll certainly be happy to see the troops return, especially since soldiers need haircuts about every two weeks to remain in their sergeants' good graces.</p><p>"It's been super slow," Taylor said. "Once they all get back, we'll get busy. We'll probably have to hire a barber or two."</p><p>---</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc558)</p><p>HASH(0x1cde274)</p>

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