JACKSON - Members of the Jackson-based 185th Aviation Brigade Headquarters and their families are preparing for a holiday treat when the unit returns from Iraq on Christmas Eve.
"We've had so many kids ask Santa to bring their mom and dad home," said Kim Dubuisson, whose 20-year-old son, Spec. Justin Hall, is one of the 98 soldiers in the unit. "We're all so excited that we can't think straight."
The unit's commander, Col. Bradly MacNealy, sent an e-mail from Iraq on Tuesday saying the soldiers will have a reception at the Raymond Road Armory in Jackson sometime between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., depending on what time the unit arrives.
Since deploying to Iraq last year, the brigade led 10 battalions, two squadrons and five separate aviation companies collectively known as the Task Force 185th Aviation Group.
Military and civilian leaders have praised the soldiers for developing innovative programs while spending much of their free time helping to improve schools and distributing learning materials, candy and hygiene products to Iraqi
children.
Maj. Gen. Harold Cross, Mississippi's adjutant general, visited the unit in Iraq last week.
"They did an outstanding job," Cross said. "The 185th did a lot of innovative things in the air arena."
Cross applauded the unit for stepping up a program in Iraq to take soldiers and cargo off perilous roads and move them through the air. Cross said the 185th noticed that there was extra space on hundreds of airplane and helicopter missions throughout Iraq and developed a program to fill that space.
The U.S. Army has estimated the program, known as Space-A, transports about 6,000 people a month.
Cross said the unit was lauded by senior members of the U.S. Central Command in Iraq.
"They've made a name for themselves in military history," Cross said. "I'm proud of all of them."
MacNealy recently described the unit's accomplishments in a video sent to The Associated Press from Iraq.
"It's been a great honor and privilege to command the first brigade-size National Guard aviation task force ever in history to be deployed into a combat zone," MacNealy said in the video. "The task force is mostly Guard, consisting of Army and Air units from 32 different states across the nation. We also have U.S. Army Reserve units from across the states and active duty units from Fort Hood (Texas), Fort Campbell (Kentucky), Fort Bragg (North Carolina), and Germany."
During the deployment, the soldiers' families formed the 185th Family Readiness Group and collected more than $600,000 worth of backpacks and school supplies and shipped them to Iraq.
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