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'Operation Allies Welcome' soldiers return home from Fort McCoy
About 100 men and women of the 652nd Multi-Role Bridge Company out of Cambridge, Minnesota, and Hammond, Wisconsin, who were deployed to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, last fall as part of "Operation Allies Welcome" are headed home.
(FOX 9) - More than 10 years ago, Sgt. Jose Benavides of St. Paul served in Afghanistan. The deployment he returned from on Wednesday was much closer, but it brought so much more meaning to that earlier tour of duty.
"It’s amazing. One of the most humbling experiences of my life," Benavides told FOX 9.
Benavides was one of 100 men and women of the 652nd Multi-Role Bridge Company out of Cambridge, Minnesota, and Hammond, Wisconsin, who were deployed to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, last fall as part of "Operation Allies Welcome," the temporary housing of more than 70,000 Afghan refugees across eight U.S. military bases.
About 100 men and women of the 652nd Multi-Role Bridge Company out of Cambridge, Minnesota, and Hammond, Wisconsin, who were deployed to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, last fall as part of "Operation Allies Welcome" are headed home. Pictured: Sgt. Jose Benav …
As their name suggests, the 652nd is an Army Reserve engineering company who specializes in building bridges. The humanitarian mission, well outside their typical training, in many ways did the same thing, at least in spirit.
As Sgt. Benavides put it, "being the bridge for these communities to be part of our United States now."
"Yeah, it was a great mission," said Sgt. Abiyo Kenyi of Minneapolis. "We helped assist the Afghanistan refugees find homes."
For six months, Fort McCoy played a variety of roles, as did the soldiers deployed there. They helped the evacuees get clothing, food and medical care.
"My job was to rush them to their appointments," said Sgt. Benavides. "Dental appointments, medical appointments, pregnancy appointments."
They also made sure the kids got to the schools set up on base and found ways to keep them entertained.
Fort McCoy in Wisconsin
"We tried to treat it like home," said Captain Sean Jordan, the company commander from Plymouth. "If we were in their shoes, what would we want? So we created soccer tournament for the kids, we created adult education for the adults."
"I taught a few kids how to march," said Sgt. Kenyi. "You know, it was pretty interesting. It was great!"
The last refugees left Fort McCoy in mid-February. Then the company flew to Texas for demobilization before returning to the Twin Cities to return to their normal lives.
"It’s a very big deal," said Sgt Benavides outside Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport, finally home at last. "I’m really proud of what the United States Department of Defense did for these families. Nothing is perfect, but we tried to do the best."