Utah soldiers begin long road home

But Caldwell's friend, Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Gubler, who is originally from Utah, lost an arm from an injury he sustained in Ramadi. A few mortars landed within about 50 meters of Caldwell.

The scariest times were trips to a glass factory in Ramadi to recruit Iraqis for police duty. Caldwell recalled a large volume of fire from machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

Last January a suicide bomber killed about 30 Iraqi recruits at the glass factory and injured two Utahns, Spc. Rick McClary of St. George and Spc. Braxton McCoy of Scipio, Millard County. Caldwell, 33, escaped alive.

By June 22, Caldwell expects he will return to his wife, Heidi, and three children, ages 14, 11 and 7, in Cedar City. He's seen them only twice, briefly each time, since January 2005.

"I just want to get to know my family again," Caldwell said. "It's been a long time away."

This month, more of Utah's volunteer troops will be coming home than leaving. On Friday, 120 soldiers with the 1st Corps Artillery unit are scheduled to leave for Mississippi on their way to Afghanistan to help train that country's Army. Guard spokesman Maj. Hank McIntire said that unit should be on the ground in Afghanistan for a year.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com