WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 14, 2003) - After 15 days of home-cooked meals and visiting with family and friends, the first wave of Soldiers who participated in the "Rest and Recuperation" program have returning to Iraq.

The first 265 Soldiers to end their break began an 18-hour trip back Oct. 12 and arrived on the ground in Kuwait Oct. 13. From now until the end of the program, planes will be leaving the states daily carrying back Soldiers who are loaded with up-to-date photos, movies, and other trinkets of home.

Waiting to board the plane at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport Oct. 13, Soldiers looked exhausted as they stretched out on benches or nodded in front the big screen TV in the USO waiting area.

Missing were teary eyes and long faces.

"It's time to go back," said Spc. Mark Chalmers, an Army Reserve military policeman from New Kensington, Pa. "I have to return to my unit -- my extended family."

There were a few soldiers who were initially missing when it came time for the first jetliner to hit the skies, but connecting flights delayed their arrival, according to Pentagon officials. All soldiers were accounted for, officials said.

"It's all down hill from now," said Staff Sgt. Cody Ayers, a National Guardsman from Oklahoma. "Going back wasn't an issue. I was so happy to have the opportunity to see my family that I didn't give myself an opportunity to think about having to say goodbye again."

For the most part, Soldiers said that they didn't want to spend their two weeks doing anything other than bonding with family.

One mother, who hadn't seen her daughter in nine months, spent that time bathing, feeding and clothing her baby.

"I'm mommy in name only, so I had to engulf her with my care," said single mom Cpl. Kelly Neal, a communications specialist from Wiesbaden, Germany.

Ayers was lucky enough to make it home in time to celebrate his 11-year wedding anniversary.

"I had 11 red roses and one white rose, to represent next year's anniversary, sent to my wife's job," Ayers said.

And more than a handful of fathers saw their newborn babies for the first time.

Pfc. Mike Hutchinson, an 18-year-old, heavy-wheel mechanic from Fort Lee, Va., saw his 3-month-old girl for the first time.

"She's so small," was all he could say about their first meeting.

Hutchison and his family also celebrated Thanksgiving with a large family dinner.

"This was my break from Iraq, and all I wanted to do was hold my wife and son," said Staff Sgt. Robert Ponte, a military policeman from Orangeburg, N.Y. "I was disappointed in the news coverage, so I stayed away from the news.

"I don't want my son to turn on the TV and see me in a firefight. We are helping the Iraqis form a government, build schools and so much more. I wish that is what my family could see on the news."

What you see on the news isn't exactly what's going on over there, and yes it is extremely hot over there, are the responses that Soldiers said they gave to most family and friends who bombarded them with questions.

"I didn't want to do a lot of talking, and my family understood that," Ayers said. "I was more interested in what they had been up to since I left."

As hundreds of soldiers end their leave, hundreds more will get the opportunity to partake in Central Command's Rest and Recuperation program. "Prepare to feel out of place," is Neal's advice to incoming soldiers.

"The States have progressed since we've been away. I didn't recognize the commercials, movies or music. Everything had changed, and it wasn't what I had expected."

Neal said that she's anxious to get back to her unit in Iraq, but she feels rejuvenated. "I missed my daughter and my morale was low, but now I feel refreshed."

(Editor's note: See related article on returning Soldiers after they touch ground in Iraq by Staff Sgt. Nate Orme.)