Nearly 80 3rd Infantry Division soldiers returned home to the warmth and humidity of south Georgia on Monday night – and to the warmth, hugs and cheers of their families.

Soldiers from the 3rd ID’s 3rd Sustainment Brigade completed their nine-month deployment to eastern Europe as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, marching across Cottrell Field before being released to a wave of oncoming loved ones.

Mike and Angela Hull came down from northern Michigan to greet their son, Sgt. Bretton Hull.

Despite their roots from one of the northernmost parts of the U.S., Mike Hull said he was acclimated to the weather – and the sand gnats. He was at Brunswick’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in the 1980s.

“I’m used to it,” he said.

Their son has been in the Army for eight years, and this now concluded deployment was his third.

“I cannot wait,” Angela Hull said. “I’ve been waiting for so long.”

It’s also the first time the Hulls have seen a welcome home ceremony for one of Sgt. Hull’s returns from deployment.

The Hulls maintained contact throughout the deployment, through calls and FaceTime. Sgt. Hull let his parents know when a package for him arrived.

“He would open it and show us, and that was great,” Angela Hull said.

The open communication lines and being to talk frequently was “tremendous,” Angela Hull said.

“It was a game-changer. It really is,” she said.

Finally seeing his family in person, though, was a “long time coming,” Sgt. Hull said.

Sgt. Hull said now that he’s home, he’s looking forward to being with his family and being back Stateside.

“And have some good food again,” he said. “It’s good to be back.”

For more, see the June 4 edition of the Coastal Courier and return to www.coastalcourier.com.