When Sgt. Daryl Casey of the Kentucky National Guard returned home from his second deployment to Iraq last winter, he was already gearing up for his third. Although President Obama declared in August of last year that Operation Iraqi Freedom had ended, the Frankfort resident knew the National Guard was still deploying men and women to Iraq - and it made him feel uneasy. But today, that feeling is gone, as the U.S. military officially declared an end to its Iraq mission in a low-key closing ceremony Thursday at a Baghdad airport.
For the complete story in The (Frankfort) State Journal, follow this link.
Veterans react to end of Iraq War
The U.S. this week closed a chapter in its War on Terror, officially ending its mission in Iraq after nearly nine years of combat. The pullout of U.S. troops from the embattled country drew mixed opinions among Hardin County veterans, some of whom have been directly affected by the conflict. Ronnie Thompson Jr., an Elizabethtown resident who was injured in late 2004 when an IED struck his Humvee, had his military career end after the roadside bomb put him on a challenging road to rehabilitation. On Thursday, Thompson said he feels the close of the Iraq War is long overdue and it is time to trust that the Iraqi government can rise up and take care of its own without falling prey to insurgent forces.
For the complete story in The (Elizabethtown) News Enterprise, follow this link.
Local reaction
For reaction from local veterans, see next week's edition of The Crittenden Press.
Leaving Iraq
For numerous photos and an accompanying audio of the Kentucky National Guard's exit from Iraq courtesy of New York Times photojournalist Andrea Bruce, visit Leaving Iraq from NYTimes.com. Bruce was an embedded photographer with the unit.
