Oklahoma National Guard Soldiers Return from Training

Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers are back in the state after spending a year training the Afghan National Army.

Friday, January 15th 2010, 2:43 pm

By: News 9


By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers are back in the state after spending a year training the Afghan National Army.

The eighteen soldiers, who were part of the Oklahoma Embedded Training Team or ETT, were stationed in Southwest Asia.

The soldiers were greeted with cheers, balloons and a brass band belting out the national anthem.

"These 18 men touched a lot of people's lives and made that country a better country," said ETT Commander Col. Percy Hurtado.

Hurtado's work and those of his troops received high praise.

"You sacrificed your families, you sacrificed your time away from home and this great state we live in, but you've done exactly what our nation has asked you to do," said Maj. Gen. Myles Deering, Adjutant General of Oklahoma.

The soldiers' jobs involved training police in the region with the goal in mind that Afghan forces will be able to adequately patrol and secure their own country so that American troops can come home.

"I feel real good that I fulfilled my mission when we went over there," said Lieutenant Col. Kerry Sims, Oklahoma Army National Guard.

Lieutenant Col. Sims said he and his fellow soldiers didn't expect a welcome of this magnitude after returning home from Afghanistan.

"It feels good because it does show the appreciation that they have for us going over there," Sims said.

The soldiers arrived in the U.S. Wednesday morning but spent most of their day at Fort Riley in Kansas.

Soldiers also received 12 Bronze Stars, four Mentor Service Medals and several Army Achievement Medals.

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