Back Home, Lean and Proud

About to plunge into war, Sgt. Chad Carpenter, an Army Ranger, remembered a key adrenaline booster: the high five.

With the door to the plane already open and the lights of the enemy stronghold twinkling below, he started swatting the hands of his fellow paratroopers and with that, swatted away fear.

“Nobody had ever done anything like this, but you wouldn’t believe how pumped we got,” Carpenter said. “That first jump was such a rush.”

Carpenter was still glowing from his first combat experience as he and 200 other Army Rangers marched off a chartered jet Friday morning, fresh from the fields of Afghanistan. They are part of the 75th Ranger Regiment, the commando troop headquartered at this Army base in western Georgia. After two months of special operations, including a raid near Kandahar, their mission is over. Their homecoming marks the largest return of combat soldiers from Operation Enduring Freedom.

Loved ones lost all practiced composure and dashed out onto the runway, belting out cheers: “Daddy’s home!” “I love you, soldier!” Some parents hugged each other, so full of pride they couldn’t speak.

Stepping in time, in spotless desert-colored “cammies,” the regiment could not have looked more impressive. Lean, focused and proud, they moved like champion athletes--except they had machine guns and black metal grenade launchers swinging from their hands. It was obvious that however boyish the soldiers were before--their average age is 21--the combat had molded them into men.

The Ranger commander said the Taliban knew it was outmatched.

“The Taliban are people who have been at war a long time,” Col. Joseph L. Votel said. “They respected our firepower. They’re not as fierce as what you hear.”

The only true enemy over there, the colonel said, was dust.

“That dry environment is unforgiving and at times hampered the use of aircraft and advanced weaponry,” he said.

The young soldiers clearly had an adventure. Everyone in the unheated hangar where the reception was held Friday morning could feel their energy despite the 45-degree temperatures. They were the paratroopers in the now-familiar green and white night vision footage of U.S. soldiers taking an airfield near Kandahar on Oct. 20. They helped raid the home of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, dropping “calling cards” wherever they went. The cards feature pictures of New York firefighters hoisting a flag above the wreckage of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks.

“It was our way of showing the Taliban we were determined. And we mean business,” said Votel, 43.

The Rangers came under some light fire, but commanders said they were not at liberty to divulge combat details.

They did other work too, much of it still secret. Rangers are among the most rigorously trained troops in the Army, skilled paratroopers and weapon specialists known for quick strikes and quick exits. But their last big deployment, in Somalia in 1993, was deemed a disaster after 18 commandos were killed in an ambush.

Despite some criticism that intelligence gathered from the Kandahar-area raids was of limited value, the Ranger commander said Friday that the work was vital.

“Our forces are still using that airfield we took,” Votel said.

One sad note, though: During the two-month expedition, the Rangers lost two men. Pfc. Kristofor T. Stonesifer, 28, and Spc. Jonn J. Edmunds, 20, were killed in a helicopter crash Oct. 19 in Pakistan.

They were remembered Friday in short speeches, but respects paid to them did not dampen the buoyant, emotional reception.

Some Rangers rocked tiny babies they had never seen before. Others clung to their wives, not talking much, just hugging.

“You’re sooooo skinny,” a woman whispered to a soldier.

One knot of young Rangers had nobody to greet them. They stood by the cookie table, arms crossed, just watching.

Friday’s group, along with another group of Rangers who returned earlier this week, will spend the next week unpacking, cleaning weapons and returning gear to storage. Then they will get two weeks’ break for the holidays.

Commanders wouldn’t discuss why these Rangers were recalled now. Dozens are still in Afghanistan, an Army representative said.

But many did say the Taliban had crumbled faster than anticipated. As of Friday, Taliban leaders were surrendering their last stronghold, Kandahar.

“Nobody was expecting to be home for Christmas,” said Sgt. Edmund Sealey, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands. “Those guys just crumbled.”

Now that they are home, comfortable and safe, many Rangers said they just want to relax with their friends and family.

Carpenter, the 26-year-old staff sergeant from Hayes, Kan., didn’t skip a beat when asked his plans.

“I just want a beer,” the sergeant said. “A big one.”

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Times researcher Edith Stanley contributed to this report.