Alaska Beat

A 'reverse surge' as Fort Wainwright soldiers return en masse

Fairbanks is filling up with soldiers. A so-called "reverse troop surge" is returning military men and women to Fort Wainwright after 12-month deployments in Afghanistan, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Starting with the return of a Stryker Brigade on Friday, an array of units will stream back to Alaska at all hours over the next week. No matter the time, enthusiastic crowds full of spouses, children, relatives and friends will be on hand to greet them.

A crowd of about 500 awaited the first returnees early Friday morning, just after midnight, at the Alert Holding Area at Fort Wainwright.

Among the welcoming crowd was 14-year-old Mia Jardine, waiting to welcome her dad, Sgt. Brandon Jardine, home from his fourth deployment. "I think he's done it enough, he knows what he's doing and he knows, like, what not to do and what to do," Mia told the News-Miner.

Read much more here.

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