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North Carolina soldiers return home from sudden Middle East deployment

By the end of the weekend, nearly 800 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force are slated to have returned to Fort Bragg.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Nearly two months after a U.S. Army rapid-response force was activated amid tensions with Iran, deploying 3,000 soldiers to the Middle East, some are returning home. 

By the end of the weekend, nearly 800 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force are slated to have returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

On Thursday morning, eager family members waited in the base’s iconic Green Ramp to greet their loved ones. 

Credit: AP
A soldier reunites with his daughter at Fort Bragg, N.C. after returning from the Middle East. The 82nd Airborne Division's Immediate Response Force had been deployed since New Years Eve. Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. Nearly two months after a U.S. Army rapid-response force was activated amid tensions with Iran, deploying 3,000 soldiers to the Middle East, some are returning home. By the end of the weekend, nearly 800 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force are slated to have returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On Thursday morning, eager family members waited in the base’s iconic Green Ramp to greet their loved ones. (U.S. Army via AP)

Roughly 2,000 members of the 1st Brigade Combat Team are still deployed to the region for “any missions deemed necessary.”  

It’s not clear when the remainder will return. 

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Credit: AP
Major General James Mingus, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, welcomes paratroopers home from the Middle East to Fort Bragg, N.C., during a ceremony Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. Nearly two months after a U.S. Army rapid-response force was activated amid tensions with Iran, deploying 3,000 soldiers to the Middle East, some are returning home. By the end of the weekend, nearly 800 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force are slated to have returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On Thursday morning, eager family members waited in the base’s iconic Green Ramp to greet their loved ones. (Sarah Blake/U.S. Army via AP)

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