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Sergeant Back Stateside After 15 Months In Iraq

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By PHYLLIS HANSON

Special to the Tribune

Published: July 16, 2008

There's no fast way of getting back to normal for soldiers who are deployed away from home for more than a year. Separation from loved ones and friends, along with an accustomed way of life, can be hard for even the toughest GI.

For the son of a Valrico man who recently returned, along with his unit, from a 15-month deployment to Iraq, the moment meant even more.

Army Sgt. Eric R. Hall, son of Stephen Hall of Valrico, arrived back at Fort Hood from Iraq, where a world of roadside bombs, sniper fire and harsh living conditions had become a way of life.

Hall is a member of the 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood. He served as an air traffic controller during the deployment.

"I provided safe, orderly and expeditious air traffic services to all military and civilian aircraft operations within Iraq air space," said Hall, a 1991 graduate of Chamberlain High School in Tampa, "as well as working with multiple Army and Air Force facilities pertaining to co-coordination with specific missions."

Securing their region in Iraq was the primary mission for the 1st Cavalry Division and its soldiers, and their efforts paid off. Roadside bomb explosions were reduced 94 percent, murders dropped from 440 to 45 in a year's time, and many shops and businesses in the region began to flourish following several years of al-Qaeda intimidation.

"I am proud to have worked at the busiest Army air traffic control facility, without incident. We were named Air Traffic Control Company of the Year," said Hall, a member of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade.

Hall, along with fellow soldiers, helped make a dramatic difference in the lives of those they protected.

After 15 months without family and friends and the creature comforts of home, Hall and fellow soldiers are ready to settle in for a sense of their version of normalcy.

"Being home is indescribable," said Hall. "It's great to be home with family and my new son, Stephen, who was born while I was deployed. He was named after his grandfather, who served in the Navy during World War II, and my father, who served in the Army during Vietnam."

Hall has served in the Army for almost five years. During that time, he has been assigned to Fort Hood and has been deployed to Iraq twice.

Phyllis Hanson prepared this report for the Army & Air Force Hometown News Service.

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