Reserves Get a Big Lift on Landing

After serving a year in the war in Iraq, 55 Army reservists from Southern California arrived at the Los Alamitos Army Airfield on Saturday, returning to family, friends and civilian lives.

“I’m glad they flew here” into Los Alamitos, said a smiling Alex Le, 21, whose Westminster home is just minutes from the base.

Le, who was attending college before being called to duty, was clutching a bouquet of daisies and was surrounded by his mother, a nephew, a brother-in-law and his best friend.

Around them, dozens of soldiers, still in their brown and tan camouflage fatigues, shared tearful hugs with family members as news cameras captured the reunions.

Most of the reservists were medics who counseled other soldiers and civilians on how to deal with combat stress. The members of the 113th Medical Company also offered sympathetic ears or a shoulder to cry on for those who simply missed being home. That included the medics.

Claudia Chavez, 31, of the San Fernando Valley said being apart from her sons Dorian, 8, and Joseph, 4, was almost unbearable at times.

The medical assistant joined the reserves 16 months ago to qualify for tuition assistance. She wanted to be a nurse. Two months later, she was in Ft. Carson, Colo., for basic training before being shipped to Iraq. She drew strength and support from other parents in the group, she said.

“I built some real strong bonds,” said Chavez. “I know I’ll keep in touch with them forever.”

The scene Saturday offered a respite from the daily television images of violence in Iraq, a year after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Many of the reservists from the 113th were deployed in Balad, a city in the Sunni Triangle where the United States is building what could become a permanent base.

The 113th is one of more than 150 Army Reserve units under the 63rd Regional Readiness Command headquartered in Los Alamitos. The command has about 12,000 soldiers in California, Arizona and Nevada.

In Balad, medics from the 113th saw scores of wounded and dead soldiers, said Hurta Johnson, 31, a company member who trained soldiers on how to wear protective suits against nuclear, biological and chemical attacks.

“When you see that, it is tough to keep a positive outlook,” said Johnson, of Torrance, an electrical engineer in his civilian life.

Still, Johnson and others at the base Saturday displayed few if any reservations about the war.

On whether the fight was worth the sacrifices, Johnson said, “I leave it up to the guys who make those decisions. I do my job at my level.”

Johnson’s wife, Ana, 28, was clasping his hand.

The war “is much scarier now,” she said, “but we still have to support our soldiers. Who knows for how long now, but we must keep fighting until the terrorists are gone. Absolutely.”

Others agreed.

Chavez’s husband, Dorian Chavez, 32, is a former Army lieutenant who spent the last year filling in as a virtual single parent to the couple’s two young boys.

He said he still supported the war.

“We need to finish what we started. The only disappointment is that we didn’t find any [weapons of mass destruction]. Even if we had found some terrorist camps, that would have been nice.

“But we know there are terrorists there now and they just have one thing in mind -- and it is to kill us. If they have any opportunity to come here and harm us, they’ll do it.”

For her part, Claudia Chavez said she didn’t give much thought to the war while serving in it.

“The only thing I thought about,” she said, “was how to get back to my sons.”