FORT HOOD – Beatriz Medina has
only seen her big brother cry
two times. Tuesday was one of
those times.
Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez
returned from a year in
Afghanistan, and Medina brought
his two sons, 9-year-old Manuel
and 2-year-old Gabriel, to the
homecoming ceremony at Iron
Horse Gym. The surprise was
enough to bring Rodriguez to
tears.
More than 200 soldiers from the
1st Infantry Division's 3rd
Brigade Combat Team were
welcomed back to Fort Hood
Tuesday.
Medina is a former soldier and
now works as a protocol
assistant at West Fort Hood's
U.S. Army Operational Test
Command. Her husband is a
soldier, too. She is constantly
surrounded by the Army and knows
what it's like to be away from
family. She wanted to do
something special for Rodriguez
upon return from his third
combat deployment.
Medina and Rodriguez have two
more younger brothers and
sisters, and the family is
planning a reunion in their
native Los Angeles in July.
It's the first time in nine
years the entire family will be
together, Medina said.
One of the biggest challenges
for Medina in the last year was
keeping communication up among
all her family members. Manuel
and Gabriel live in San Antonio
with their mother and it was
important for Medina to support
them, her family and her
deployed brother.
Working on post has benefited
Medina because she knows what's
going on and feels she can show
more support to soldiers and
their families. She is familiar
with the way the Army works and
it helped when a neighbor was
stressed out that her husband's
homecoming date kept moving.
Tuesday's flight was the first
of the brigade's main body to
return. An advance party of
about 115 arrived late last
month. The brigade will
continue to arrive at Fort Hood
through this month.
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