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Utah Airmen From 649th CLSS Return Home

Utah Airmen From 649th CLSS Return Home


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Richard Piatt reportingMore service men and women are back in Utah today after playing a part in the war in Iraq.

A little girl takes a picture of her daddy to capture his homecoming from the Middle East. Then, this military family is on its way like most of the 14 airmen from the 649th Combat Logistics Support Squadron.

Most didn't really want much of an airport homecoming. They left fast and we could barely catch up with them.

Who'd blame them? After more than a month in a hot, strangely humid Persian Gulf desert, it's got to be good to be home.

The Squadron fixed mostly F-16's and A-10's during the war. This is a job one team engineer told us seemed a little different while they were there.

Cpt. Mark Emiley/649th CLSS "JUST THE PERCEPTION OF INTENSITY IS A MAJOR DIFFERENCE. O-K, THIS IS THE REAL DEAL, LET'S DO OUR JOB. MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE."

This is just another in a slew of homecomings expected in the coming weeks. Utah has one of the largest numbers of servicemen and women overseas in the nation.

Most are finding the reception is warm from family and strangers.

Lt. Col. Craig Hall/649th CLSS "A NUMBER OF PEOPLE JUST TAPPED ME ON THE ARM AND SAID THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING, AND IT JUST SAID THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT."

In military fashion, most are stoic about such welcomes.

Cpt. Mark Emiley/649 CLSS "IT'S NICE TO HEAR THAT, BUT IT'S TOTALLY UNECESSARY, IT'S OUR JOB TO DO WHAT WE DID."

But a job that most will admit was tough, stressful, and in a dangerous in a foreign land.

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