Local troops come home from Iraq

Home sweet home. The 131 soldiers of Charlie Company, 113th Infantry 2nd Battalion Light Regiment of the U.S. Army National Guard have come home after a one-year deployment to Iraq.

Last June, the captain said he promised to do the best he could to bring back everyone the way they left, "safe to their families."

Calenicoff, 36, of Linden, who served as an active-duty soldier for two years before joining the National Guard in 1999, and his company were greeted by family and friends as well as Mayor John E. Mc- Cormac and other dignitaries during their welcome-home ceremony June 14 at the Woodbridge National Guard Armory.

Also welcoming them home were veterans from the various veterans groups in the township, including Woodbridge Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4410, Fords VFW Post 6090, Avenel VFW Memorial Post 7164, and the Avenel Detachment of the U.S. Marine Corps League.

"We flew the (American) flag that township officials gave us last year, and we presented the flag back to the township," Calenicoff said.

The 113th Infantry was stationed in the southern area of Iraq.

"It was very close to Basra," said Calenicoff. "Our job throughout the year was detention operations. It was like a correctional environment, where detainees were housed in theater interment facilities."

Calenicoff said his company stayed in the same area, but some had different job types pertaining to their individual specialties.

"For example, four of my medics were working in the hospital," he said.

Calenicoff said on Sunday that the soldiers were released to their families.

"Everyone gets to go home. We have a few more days on active duty, and then everyone will go back to their jobs and their lives," he said. Calenicoff's wife, Tanya, said it was great to have all the soldiers back home safely.

"I'm just really happy," she said with a smile. "We will still continue the Family Readiness Group to provide support and if anyone needs help with integrating back to their usual lives."

Lamar Reddick, 22, of Linden, and Giovanni Toro, 21, of Elizabeth, shared their experiences with the Sentinel.

Reddick said he has been with the 113th Infantry for almost four years. This was his first deployment to Iraq.

"When we were first deployed, I was immediately scared like everyone else; I didn't know what to expect," he said. "The only things I knew were the stories I heard on the news and from stories I heard from fellow soldiers."

Reddick said now he plans to go back to school and obtain a government job.

Toro said he had enlisted with the U.S. Army in March 2008, and shortly after basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., he learned that he was being deployed to Iraq with the 113th Infantry.

"It was about two weeks after basic training," he said. "We were there as guards of the detainees as well as showing the people [in Iraq] that we were not bad people, we were there to give them freedom."

Toro said the first few months were rough. "We were working a lot of hours — 15 hour days, seven days a week," he said. "It was very hot, and some days it would get up to 115 to 120 degrees, but then it would drop down to 60 degrees."

Toro said at all times they didn't know what to expect.

"We always had to have our guard up and stay vigilant," he said, adding that he worked with a great team of soldiers.

Toro said that now he plans to take a long vacation visiting family members he hasn't seen in years.

"I plan to go back to school and get a good job until my next deployment," he said.