Name: 700 Minnesota National Guard soldiers deployed in Middle East return home after a year
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700 Minnesota National Guard soldiers deployed in Middle East return home after a year

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By | St. Paul Pioneer PressEvery day since Bradley Lamusga deployed with the Minnesota National Guard, his 5-year-old daughter MaryGayle marked down the days until his return, moving a shiny green marble from a Mason jar marked “Days Left” to another jar marked “Days Done.”On Thursday, she moved the final marble from the “Days Left” jar, marking the last of 378 days waiting for her father to come home.Susanna Lamusga, of Brainerd, and her two young daughters are among many families who recently welcomed home 700 soldiers from the National Guard’s St. Paul-based 34th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade.Returning in six groups since the second week of October, the soldiers will be starting their six month adjustment period back to civilian life before beginning training again in January for future deployment. The soldiers operated out of two missions in Iraq and Kuwait and assisted Iraqi forces in their fight against the Islamic State.Lamusga, whose husband is a staff sergeant, said deployment is never easy on families, especially for those with younger kids. As someone who is self-employed and raising two children, she said COVID-19 has made a tough job almost impossible. And she’s not alone. Over half of the 700 soldiers deployed have a spouse, a child or another person they marked as a dependent.The first time Susanna Lamusga experienced the other side of deployment was nine months after she and Bradley Lamusga met. She said there was no support for people in her position.She wanted to give soldiers’ loved ones peace of mind during their absence and she became a military Family Readiness Group leader — a volunteer who serves as a liaison between National Guard commanders and families of those deployed.Some spouses struggle with navigating child care, finances and marital issues. Others call her when they’re fearful for their loved ones’ safety or disappointed when hearing of a delayed return date.“When I got the call from other family members (who are) just scared, I would tell them, ‘You know, I’m scared too,'” she said. “Especially with the pandemic … it’s created a lot of fear and a lot of unknowns. And not having that second person around (is difficult).”Lamusga said, especially after National Guard members were deployed in the Twin Cities following the police killing of George Floyd, her phone was ringing non-stop for days with calls from people worried about their loved ones.While stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq, the 34th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade provided attack via assault helicopter and lift aid in Iraq and Syria. Soldiers from units in Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, Nevada, New Hampshire, Michigan, Mississippi and Montana were also deployed as part of the multi-state collaboration, along with forces from Italy and Spain.“Task Force Red Devils operated in a volatile environment at the beginning of the deployment,” said Col. Gregory Fix, the brigade commander.The brigade faced rocket attacks at Camp Taji, Iraq, and three service members — none from Minnesota — were killed in March.The Minnesota brigade participated in two missions, Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve. Operation Spartan Shield is part of an Army and National Guard presence in Southwest Asia through key leader engagements, aviation logistics and humanitarian assistance and disaster response planning. Operation Inherent Resolve was established by the Department of Defense in 2014 to combat ISIS in areas of Syria and Iraq.The Minnesota soldiers returned to the United States in late September and early October, flying to Fort Hood in Texas, according to Fix. After quarantining for 14 days within their cohort, the soldiers had to wait an additional day or two for transportation to return home, he said.Susanna Lamusga waited for Bradley’s flight on Thursday, which was delayed for an hour and a half, and started crying when she saw him come through the terminal. She brought along MaryGayle as a surprise and as they held each other and their daughter, Bradley Lamusga said he cried, too. When they drove back to Brainerd the next day, they had a full reunification with their other daughter, 3-year-old Renee, who greeted them with a red, white and blue ribbon in her hair.“(I feel) just all the feels,” Susanna Lamusga said, reflecting on the time she first spotted her husband at the airport on Thursday. “This moment that we’ve been praying for and envisioning … it’s just unexplainable.”We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.Sign up for Newsletters and AlertsFollow UsMost PopularClose

By | St. Paul Pioneer PressEvery day since Bradley Lamusga deployed with the Minnesota National Guard, his 5-year-old daughter MaryGayle marked down the days until his return, moving a shiny green marble from a Mason jar marked “Days Left” to another jar marked “Days Done.”On Thursday, she moved the final marble from the “Days Left” jar, marking the last of 378 days waiting for her father to come home.Susanna Lamusga, of Brainerd, and her two young daughters are among many families who recently welcomed home 700 soldiers from the National Guard’s St. Paul-based 34th Expeditionary Combat...

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700 Minnesota National Guard soldiers deployed in Middle East return home after a year

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