1148th Transportation Group flight on hold - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

1148th Transportation Group flight on hold

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April

Albany - The return of a south Georgia National Georgia unit will be delayed. Families thought they were coming home this week.

The 1148th Transportation Group's flight home will be delayed, possibly for several weeks. Some south Georgia families heard the news Sunday night, others found out Monday through WALB.

Daniel Araujo is a cook at Waffle House. He yells, "Triple scramble on bacon". Scramble, a word to describe Araujo's past year. He says, "It's been a challenge." A challenge he has faced all year long. One year ago this Thursday, his wife, Theresa, left for war.

Araujo works, goes to school, is also in the Army National Guard, all while taking care of four kids. He adds, "It's real tough on the kids and they want their mamma back."

His wife and the rest of the 1148th Transportation Group out of Thomasville were set to come home this week, but violence in Iraq stalled their hopes.

A soldier who wanted to remain anonymous wrote WALB an e-mail saying the news upset everyone. Some even tried to hurt themselves.

Captain Alice Hampton e-mailed from Kuwait, "Unfortunately yes, our plans have changed. We have been extended for an unknown amount of time. We are not sure how long we will be here. The morale of the troops is low, of course, but they are doing a lot better than I expected. They are all good soldiers and taking this in stride."

Araujo says, "I haven't heard from her [Theresa] since last Sunday."

Thursday will be 365 days in the desert, since then, the mother of four has had close calls. Araujo adds, "Her truck, with her partner, they were actually shot at a couple of occasions."

A scary thought as her husband tries to go on with daily chores on the home front. His days aren't always sunny side up. Monday night, he has to tell the kids their mom's flight was once again put on hold.

The 1148th Transportation Group left the United States on April 15th of last year. There have been a few injuries, none during combat. The unit has 112 soldiers who are still overseas.

posted at 5:55PM by kathryn.simmons@walb.com