Community Corner
Los Alamitos Soldiers to Come Home from Iraq Next Week
An exact date has not yet been set for the homecoming of the 1-140th Aviation Battalion in Los Alamitos.
About 300 local soldiers from the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base will return home from Iraq next week.
The 1-140th Aviation (Air Assault) Battalion has not suffered a single combat casualty throughout its yearlong deployment. California National Guard officials expect the entire battalion (known as Task Force Long Knife) to return safely as early as next Monday, said Maj. Jonathan Masaki Shiroma. However, the exact date of its return next week has not yet been determined, added Shiroma.
“It’s such a joyous occasion when a unit returns from combat,” Shiroma said.
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Sure to involve emotional reunions between husbands and wives, and children and parents, the arrival of the soldiers might be open to the community. California National Guard officials will release more details about the battalion’s return as well as potential events for the public once the schedule is determined.
In central Iraq, the battalion’s mission had a critical role in the ongoing troop drawdown.
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