Mass. Guard unit comes home; no casualties

[unhappycamper]

Mass. Guard unit comes home; no casualties
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday May 4, 2008 8:46:54 EDT

HUDSON, Mass. — A state Army National Guard unit that didn’t suffer a single casualty during a yearlong deployment protecting some the highest profile targets in Iraq returned home Saturday.

Four buses carrying 188 members of the 181st Infantry Regiment, based in Worcester, rolled into the parking lot at the Hudson Elks Club at about 6 a.m. The soldiers were greeted by banners, hugs and tears from hundreds of friends and families.

“It was chaos,” said the unit commander, Capt. Stephen Rooney.

The unit was charged with protecting various high-ranking officials in Baghdad, including U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General.

“It’s a high stress mission,” Rooney said. “There’s just no room for failure.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_guardunitreturns_050308/