The XVIII Airborne Corps commander, Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, and Command Sgt. Maj. Earl Rice, along with subordinate division commanders and more than 100 distinguished guests attended the XVIII Airborne Corps’ Welcome Home Return Ceremony on Fort Bragg.More than 750 XVIII Airborne Corps soldiers recently returned from a yearlong deployment to Iraq.After taking well-earned leave to reconnect with friends and family, they returned to work to participate in a busy week of events.Approximately 600 paratroopers exited aircraft to refresh their proficiency during three days of airborne operations, command groups from each of the subordinate divisions and units flew their respective colors to Fort Bragg to join the more than 14,000 airborne soldiers participating in the corps’ four-mile run and, finally, the week concluded with the official XVIII Airborne Corps Welcome Home Return Ceremony."This is what it’s all about," Sgt. Joevince San Nicolas, a mechanic with Headquarters Support Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps, said.Adding, "After a yearlong deployment, I’m glad to be doing what I love again – being a paratrooper and jumping out of airplanes."San Nicolas isn’t the only one that loves being back home at Fort Bragg."It’s the best way to start your day," Helmick said during the ceremony. "Everyone should be able to wake up and run four miles with 13,000 paratroopers."The return ceremony marked the end of the corps’ third deployment to Iraq and successful completion of Operation New Dawn in which U.S. forces handed off their duties to trained Iraqi counterparts and then withdrew from Iraq."The Iraqi military has grown from nothing in 2003, to 14 army divisions today," Helmick said, adding that Iraq now has a proficient Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and police force all with the help of XVIII Airborne Corps soldiers.During the deployment, in addition to enhancing the Iraqi capabilities and maintaining security through combat missions, the corps was also assigned the momentous task of retrograding 1,639,000 pieces of equipment and closing all 80 U.S. bases throughout the country, including Camp Victory, which once housed 25,000 troops."No one in the world could do what we did," Helmick said.(Editor’s note: This story is based on an article by Sgt. Katryn Tuton, 50th Public Affairs Detachment.)