County National Guard troops return from duty in Guantanamo

Sussex county - The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs has released information concerning the arrival of the 2nd Battalion of the 102nd Armored Division from duty in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The group consists of four companies comprised of 220 men and women, several of whom are from the Sussex County area. Individual names of soldiers are not released to the media for security reasons, but families have been informed of the soldiers arrival. The 102nd is returning following the completion of a nine-month deployment to Guantanamo Bay. The deployment was part of Operation Enduring Freedom in support of the ongoing global war against terrorism. The tank battalion was an integral element of Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO). According to Staff Sgt. Robert Stephenson of the adjutant General's office in Lawrenceville, the division arrived in New Jersey last Saturday and is currently being outprocessed at Fort Dix. Stephenson said soldiers in the division will be granted holiday leave for this coming weekend which includes Good Friday and Easter Sunday. That leave is scheduled to begin this Thursday evening. The outprocessing of soldiers returning from duty usually takes slightly longer than a week, and Stephenson tentatively expects that the division's members will be released to their families some time around March 29-31. A ceremony signifying their release is loosely scheduled for March 31 at the West Orange Armory on Pleasant Valley Road. Two units of National Guardsmen headquartered in Lawrenceville have already returned and will be released to their families on Thursday in a ceremony at the Lawrenceville Armory at 3:30 p.m. The release dates for the 102nd are tentative, and will be updated as necessary.