Looking tired and road weary but mostly smiling, the members of the Orangeburg-based U.S. Army Reserve 414th Chemical Company returned home Tuesday.

The company was at Fort Stewart for three months awaiting the possible call to duty in Iraq. The waiting time was filled with training and more training in case chemical warfare became an issue in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Raymond Reyes of Port Charlotte, Fla., was attached to the 414th two months ago. He previously had been an Institutional Trainer in Chemical Warfare with the 108th Company at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.

Reyes brought with him the experience of having spent time in Kuwait with an aviation unit of Apache and Blackhawk helicopters.

"I trained them for the possibility of chemical attack," Reyes said. "I'm like the bug in the commander's ear. I predict where the hazards will be in case of chemical attack."

A veteran of Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Reyes has a special feeling for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"My feeling is that this puts some closure on what we started 12 years ago," Reyes said. "I was a little frustrated and felt that we left something unfinished. But I think this is the end that we should have had before. I'm glad that I was attached to the 414th. I want to see young people prepared for what they might have to face. I wanted to teach these young people to be prepared."

As a part of the training force at Fort Stewart, Reyes kept the days filled with instruction for members of the company like Pvt. 2nd Class Lance Hatchell of St. George.

"I got to Fort Stewart on March the 22nd," Hatchell said. "That was only three days after I graduated from basic training. We had a lot of training exercises, so the down time was always good."

Along with his military training, Hatchell learned another very important lesson during is stay at Fort Stewart.

"I learned how important it is that families work together," Hatchell said. "I know now what it means to have somebody at home taking care of things for you while you're away. I always took some things for granted, but now I really appreciate how important it is to have the support of your family."

Hatchell, a consummate outdoorsman, said the first thing he plans to do after seeing his mother and brothers is relax with a fishing pole.

The homecoming for Sgt. Teena Davis of Swansea was extra special. She was greeted by her mother, Margaret Davis, and her 7-year-old daughter, Destiny.

"The hardest part of being at Fort Stewart for me wasn't the hard work and the training and more training, but being away from my daughter," Davis said. "There were a lot of tears from everybody when I left. So, when we found out that I wouldn't have to go overseas, I called them with a lot of excitement."

"It was a prayer answered when she called and told us she wouldn't have to go to the war," Mrs. Davis said. "That was what I prayed for from the time that she left here. It showed that I pray to a true God. When I saw her, I gave her the biggest hug that I had strength for, and when I get her home, I'm going to cook her the biggest meal I can."

That is all well and good with Sgt. Davis, but her plans differ slightly from her mother's.

"The first thing I'm going to do when I get home is get in the tub and soak for hours," Davis said. "Then I'll eat everything Mom puts in front of me."

In the Davis clan, all three generations, had plans for making homecoming day a special one for Sgt. Davis.

"I still have her mother's day gift for her," Destiny said. "I missed her a lot, and I used to write something about her every day."

Although Destiny's Mother's Day gift to Sgt. Davis is a secret, like any seven year old, she was anxious to share it.

"I made her a book for Mother's Day," Destiny said. "It's call 'Five Reasons Why I Love You.' We can pretend that today is Mother's Day. I'm real happy my mommy's back."

T&D Staff Writer Thomas Brown can be reached by e-mail at tbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532.

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