Of all the Army installations in the United States, none mobilizes or demobilizes more service members than Fort Bliss, in El Paso, which transitions some 26,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines each year. But when families gathered to welcome back 48 soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, who returned from eastern Afghanistan on the Friday before Memorial Day, something was different. It wasn’t that the troops, part of a select group of 300, were returning from a nine-month tour in which their primary mission was not to engage in combat but to advise Afghan security forces. And it wasn’t that, unlike so many other units that have returned to Fort Bliss in recent years, they brought back every soldier they left with.

No, the difference was that this time they and their families had something new to look forward to. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been a constant churn; almost all of these returning soldiers had deployed more than once, and some as many as five times. Their previous tour with the full brigade, an abbreviated stay in Iraq, ended in December 2011, after President Barack Obama ordered all remaining troops withdrawn. But just two weeks after that return to El Paso, they were notified that they would be leaving for Afghanistan in the spring of 2012. Now, with the Afghan combat mission set to conclude by the end of 2014—and the long slog of two difficult conflicts soon to be behind us—the soldiers of 4-1 AD, and all the other troops coming back to U.S. bases in the eighteen months ahead, can view their return with a realistic hope: that this time they’re home for good.

My oldest girl is seven, and she was pretty resilient. She’d already been through three deployments. But it was different for the two younger girls. My wife said the youngest, Jana, would grab her hand and say, “Can we go pick Dad up from work now?”
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
The first time I deployed, Nema was a baby and didn’t understand. This time we discussed it. She knows when Mommy takes a plane to work, I’ll be gone a long time. When I got home, I saw her on my husband’s shoulders and blew her a kiss. She saluted me.
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
Since the initial invasion of Iraq, in 2003, every other year I’ve been gone for a year. The kids were my babies the first time I left. All Jack knew was that Daddy had on his “bye-bye uniform.” This time he had specific questions about my mission.
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
Every now and then, I’d want a Smashburger or a pizza, but then I’d look at the pictures on the wall above my desk and remember what I really missed.
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
Between the last two deployments, I’ve been gone half my son’s life. So when I got back this time, he was a little unsure at first. It helped that his sister was excited.
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
I felt relief and happiness but a little bit of worry about whether they’d remember me, especially my two younger ones. But Wyatt did. He cried if I tried to put him down.
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
Every time I deploy or come home, my dad comes to help take care of things. But he worries too. He told me once that since he encouraged me to join, he feels responsible.
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
I picked them out as soon as I got off the plane. The thing that grabbed me was not just how much they’d grown physically but the way they stood together, unified. I saw their strength and thought, “We did it.”
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
This was my 5th deployment, and it was different for Kacellia. She’s used to being on the base, but this time she took our 3 kids to stay with her family in Dayton. They were a great support, but it wasn't the same as being around other Army wives.
Photograph by Joe Pugliese
This was my 3rd combat deployment but the first with a wife and family. It helped that we were both active duty. If I’m downrange, and she doesn’t hear from me for a few days, she knows I’m on mission. Fear's not the first thing on her mind.
Photograph by Joe Pugliese