Army
GalleryWolverines return home to Alaska after 9-month deployment to Europe
Stars and Stripes
April 1, 2024
Soldiers from the 98th Support Maintenance Company (SMC), 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB), 11th Airborne Division, return to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, after a nine-month deployment to Europe, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (John Pennell/11th Airborne Division)
The Wolverines of the 98th Support Maintenance Company returned home to a warm welcome last week after a nine-month deployment to Europe.
The 138 soldiers provided maintenance and wheeled-vehicle recovery from Forward Operating Site Powidz, Poland, as well as Pabrade, Lithuania, and Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romania, from July 9, 2023, until their return to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on Thursday.
“It’s a bittersweet moment to be home,” said Capt. Jennifer Cabanas, 98th SMC commander. “The Wolverines have been working nonstop for over a year and a half to prepare and complete our mission overseas. ... I couldn’t be more proud of everything the Wolverines have accomplished. They represented the 11th Airborne Division well and set the bar very high for future rotational units.”
Lt. Col. Gavin R. Laskowski, 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion commander, said 98th SMC’s specialized maintenance skills and equipment enhanced the warfighters’ ability to maintain readiness, bolster security and enhance interoperability with allied forces within the European Command area of responsibility.
“It feels great to be back home where my friends and family are, being able to reconnect with loved ones,” Spc. Warren McClure said. “It was a privilege and an opportunity to go to another country, to eat their food and speak to their kind people. I was able to make new friends on this journey and was able to have an experience of a lifetime.”
Soldiers from the 98th Support Maintenance Company (SMC), 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB), 11th Airborne Division, return to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, after a nine-month deployment to Europe, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (John Pennell/11th Airborne Division)
Family members welcome home soldiers from the 98th Support Maintenance Company (SMC), 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 11th Airborne Division, who returned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Thursday, March 28, 2024, after a nine-month deployment to Europe. (John Pennell/11th Airborne Division)
Family members welcome home soldiers from the 98th Support Maintenance Company (SMC), 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 11th Airborne Division, who returned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Thursday, March 28, 2024, after a nine-month deployment to Europe. (John Pennell/11th Airborne Division)
Soldiers from the 98th Support Maintenance Company (SMC), 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB), 11th Airborne Division, return to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, after a nine-month deployment to Europe, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (John Pennell/11th Airborne Division)
Soldiers from the 98th Support Maintenance Company (SMC), 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB), 11th Airborne Division, return to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, after a nine-month deployment to Europe, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (John Pennell/11th Airborne Division)
Lt. Col. Gavin Laskowski, commander of the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB), welcomes the soldiers of the 98th Support Maintenance Company (SMC) on their return to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, after a nine-month deployment to Europe, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (John Pennell/11th Airborne Division)
Family members welcome home soldiers from the 98th Support Maintenance Company (SMC), 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 11th Airborne Division, who returned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Thursday, March 28, 2024, after a nine-month deployment to Europe. (John Pennell/11th Airborne Division)
