By David Spunt Reporter
News 3 On Your Side
Fort Benning has over 275 more soldiers back Saturday night, after a 14 month deployment to Iraq.News 3 On Your Side
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Stumble It!News Three was there Saturday afternoon as soldiers lined up to turn their weapons in before seeing their families.
The group of soldiers made up the second flight of the advanced or "torch" party for the 3rd Brigade.
The first group came home late Wednesday night.
When soldiers finally get off the plane, they're ready to see their families, but the reunion doesn’t happen right away.
Before Sergeant First Class Danny Ervin reunites with his children and wife Cynthia, there are still a few things he'll have to do.
“It's better than it has been for the last week or so, not knowing what time the flight was going to be going home,” Ervin said.
News Three caught up with Ervin right after he got off the plane.
He along with over 250 of his fellow soldiers still have some work to do.
Before they can even see their families, they're required to turn in their weapons and sit through a mandatory safety briefing, which can take over an hour.
“I'm nervous and excited both because my wife keeps telling me how much they've grown since I’ve been gone so I’m anxious to see how big they are,” he said.
What made Ervin even more anxious is that his two kids, Alexis and Michael had no idea he was coming home so soon.
“My kids thought I was coming home in May. I didn't want to give them a definite date and things change at the last minute of me not being there and getting their hopes crushed,” he said.
After walking through a sea of soldiers, and sitting through mandatory briefings, Danny Ervin's wish finally came true.
The Irvin crew was together again.
This year marks Ervin's 21st in the Army. His wife, Cynthia says she's hoping he'll retire, but no word yet from Danny. All we know now is one thing for certain.
“I'm going to go home and spend time with my family and try to catch up on the time I've missed,” he said.
We're on your side with a breakdown of the coming weeks for the rest of the 3rd brigade arrivals.
Fort Benning is expecting more advanced party soldiers back on post within the first few weeks in May.
The main body of the 3rd Brigade is expected somewhere during that time frame.
To find out more about the 3rd Brigade click its online blog, Hammerslogger.