PADUCAH, Kentucky – Soldiers of the 2113th Transportation Company welcomed their Soldiers back during a ceremony Aug. 17 at the Paducah-McCracken County Convention and Expo Center in Paducah, Kentucky.

The 2113th Regiment returned to the United States in May from its nine-month deployment to Poland and Romania and took a 90-day break to reintegrate. This weekend they were all together for the first time since returning home.

To welcome them home today, 75th Troop Command Commander COL Jason Penn was on hand to express his appreciation to the troops and their families in attendance.

“Thank you to everyone in this room, thank you for what you have done. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice. “And especially to the soldiers in the room: this nation, this Commonwealth, has asked (a lot) of you and you all have absolutely delivered.”

He continued.

“To the families in this room, this nation and our Commonwealth owe you a debt that they can never repay. You know, your soldiers and your sacrifice contributed directly to this nation’s national defense strategy. You made possible the democracy and the freedom that 99% of civilians in the United States take for granted. Well, you paid a price for that, and for that, I thank the children in this room, your loved ones, your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your aunt, your uncle, whoever it may be, they are heroes, and no one can ever take that away from them.”

According to their commander, CPT Hope Smith, the unit had many accomplishments. Some of them were: 171 long-distance transport missions, nine recovery missions, over $414,000,000 in Class 5 (ammunition) and $1,000,000 in Class 9 (spare parts) transported by their truck drivers (88M). They also drove one and a half million miles through 14 countries and their maintenance technicians performed 250 maintenance and 600 repairs.