Georgia troops return after deploying amid war in Ukraine

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — More than 3,800 Army soldiers are returning to Georgia five months after their rapid deployment to Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Several hundred troops arrived home Tuesday to Fort Stewart, where cheering parents, spouses and children welcomed them with waving flags and homemade signs.

Members of the 1st Armored Brigade of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division found themselves scrambling to deploy in early March, barely a week after Russian troops invaded Ukraine. The soldiers from Georgia went to Germany to train alongside NATO allies in a show of force intended to deter further Russian aggression in Europe.

Spc. David King had to leave his wife and 2-year-old daughter with less than two days of advance notice. Both were waiting when he returned to Fort Stewart.

“I was a little worried that stuff was going to get crazy,” Kyra King, the soldier’s wife, told the Savannah Morning News. “But he stayed safe.”

Fort Stewart commanders say the rest of the 1st Brigade should be home by the end of August.

The U.S. military is sending another unit to take its place — the 3rd Armored Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas.