Hundreds of Soldiers Back Home

280 soldiers returned home to their families today, and for one proud father it was the first time seeing his baby girl since just after she was born.

Chania Hernandez waited with excitement as her husband Cristian returned after the nine-month deployment. Their daughter, Jolene, was just 12-days-old when Cristian was sent to Kuwait.

Chania says this was the hardest period of her life, and the joy at her husband’s return was plain to see.

“It was hard because I was by myself,” says Chania. “My family had just left to Puerto Rico. So I spent [the time] all by myself with [Jolene]. It was very hard.”

This was Cristian’s second deployment, the first coming before they had little Jolene.

He told KRDO Newschannel 13 the first thing he wanted to do after returning to the U.S. is go home and relax – then spend some quality time with his wife and daughter.