On Friday, July 30th, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, and friends and neighbors were elated to see their loved ones on American soil after not seeing them for over a year. It was the day that families and communities had longed for: the 94th Military Policy Company had returned to Fort Drum, New York where they would then proceed to their hometowns. For at least 20 of those reservists, those hometowns are located in Maine. While they are now home, their return took longer than many had wished and hoped for.
After serving more than a year in Iraq and Kuwait, the company was scheduled to return home in April. They had actually begun their journey home, when their deployment was then delayed by the Department of Defense by 90 days, to the end of July. It was after this announcement that I arranged for U.S. military officials to meet at the Pentagon with families of the 94th MP Company. The June meeting allowed family members to express their concerns directly to high ranking military officials.
I have long been concerned that our guardsmen and reservists are being over utilized by the military. No state knows this better than Maine, where we have the third highest number of active duty reservists in the nation. I expressed these concerns to Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers in meetings earlier this year. Further, in my meetings with these and other military officials, I sought parity among military units since the 94th has been mobilized multiple times and has served continuously in theater longer than any military unit.
While Sergeant Mills, a member of the 94th MP Unit, has been in the States for some time now, he has felt a world away from home. Nearly one year ago, Sgt. Mills was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center for serious injuries sustained to his right shoulder and leg. Mills received his injuries when his convoy passed a roadside bomb that exploded outside of Ramadi, Iraq. Shortly after he was admitted to Walter Reed, I had the opportunity to visit SgtMills and I have great admiration for the strength shown by him and his family during this difficult ordeal.
During his ten month stay, a number of surgeries have been performed to repair Sgt. Mills' shoulder and leg. While Mills has received excellent medical care at Walter Reed and is grateful for the care he has received there, he has decided he would prefer to spend the rest of his time rehabilitating in Maine. It was determined that the timeline was unclear on when Mills' final procedures would take place at Walter Reed, and at that time he sought my assistance in releasing him from the Army Medical Center so he might return to Maine. I have been in communication with officials at Walter Reed, and Mills has been released and is on his way home to Maine. Before returning to his hometown of Shapleigh, Maine, Mills will spend a week in Fort Drum, New York as he undergoes demobilization.
I would like to take this opportunity to again thank all of the members of the 94th, including Sergeant Curtis Mills, for their dedicated service to our country and I welcome them back home. They have worked tirelessly to protect our nation during this time of war, and we are happy to have them safely back in Maine.
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