Some 550 families across Alabama are celebrating today after being reunited with loved ones they welcomed home in emotional ceremonies in a half-dozen locations in the central part of the state Monday. Six companies of the 1st Battalion of the 167th Infantry, also called the 4th Alabama, returned home safely after being deployed to Afghanistan where, as one officer put it, they encountered the enemy “more than our fair share” of times. Some 70 members of Alpha Company from Valley and Anniston National Guard units received welcomes in their cities. Bravo Company returned to Pelham with more than 100 soldiers. Charlie Company made it back to Cullman with more than 70 soldiers. Sylacauga welcomed some 70 soldiers from Delta Company in ceremonies at Legion Stadium. And 240 members of Talladega’s Echo Company and Oxford’s Foxtrot Company held a combined homecoming at the Speedvision Dome next to Talladega Superspeedway. In some of the most hostile territory on earth, these men and women from Alabama conducted more than 18,350 missions, transporting 65,200 personnel more than 206,148 miles — enough mileage to circle the earth more than eight times. There were some from the 167th who volunteered to remain in Afghanistan to assist the troops who went to take their place. The focus of the celebrations was on showing appreciation not only to the soldiers, but also to their families, friends and other who demonstrated their support for them during the deployment. We add our thanks as well. The guard has always played a vital role in our nation’s defense, and traces its history back to colonial days, even before the founding of our nation, when militias stood ready to defend the colonists. Through the 19th century and the early part of the 20th, the militia, and then the National Guard, made up the bulk of our defense, at least during initial part of the conflicts. Guardsmen served in World War I, World War II, in Korea and Vietnam, they reinforced NATO during the Berlin crisis, and their role has become more critical in recent years. Overseas deployments have been more frequent since Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and the dual role of the guard also requires soldiers to be available to serve following natural disasters and other emergencies to help protect lives and property at home. We appreciate the commitment these men and women make to serve Alabama and the United States, their professionalism in their work as they continue their training, and the risks they take on behalf of all of us as they undertake their service. We join their families in expressing gratitude that they all returned home safely, and we thank them for their service and sacrifices.

Several roads reopened but some remained impassable throughout the area after thunderstorms left behind an unexpected amount of water and a trail of damage Saturday. Scott Murphree, alert notification manager for the Talladega County Emergency Management Agency, said motorists have resumed using Alabama 21 near Munford, Eastaboga Road, Brickstore Road and Curry Station Road. Silver Run Road is still closed. Talladega City Manager Brian Muenger said there was substantial private property damage and some damage to city property, including the Brecon Recreation Center. He said a section of Tinney Street near Norfolk Southern Railroad collapsed after storm waters swept a drain pipe from underneath the street. “Luckily, we noticed this happening well in advance,” Muenger said. “When we checked on the street, nearly 40 percent of the road was left unsupported. We had the road barricaded before it collapsed.” A similar situation occurred on Woolfolk Road. According to Murphree, a section of the road collapsed after the waters carried away three drain pipes. Gary Brown, who lives on the eastern side of the creek on Woolfolk Road, constructed a foot bridge across the creek so he could visit his daughter on the west side of the creek, but the waters swept the pipes into the bridge. “Now I have to drive 14 miles to my daughter’s home and I can throw a rock and hit it from where I live,” Brown said. Muenger praised agencies in the city for their efforts during and after the flooding. “Our emergency responders were well equipped for this event, maintaining boats and other useful equipment to facilitate the evacuations and rescues,” Muenger said. “Our public works personnel did well clearing debris and managing their duties.” As the city was flooded, firefighters were flooded with tasks, including evacuating more than a dozen residents from flooded homes and rescuing more than a dozen motorists from vehicles. “We understand that some of the residents affected were handicapped,” Muenger said. “We maintain a list of certain people within the community and we conduct welfare checks to ensure they are safe.” Not everything was perfect and Muenger mentioned several problem areas, including sewage backing up into some residents’ yards and storm water infrastructure lacking the capacity to handle the amount of water drenching the city. He said the city manager’s office is roughly 80 percent complete on a storm water system study and his office will be actively doing everything possible to help improve the system. “Events like this provide a large demonstration on the worst-case scenario,” Muenger said. “It was an extremely high-volume rain event. We’ve seen water levels rise in places we’ve never seen it rise in 15 years.” In St. Clair County, Alabama 174 remains closed after the road collapsed when storms washed away a corrugated steel drainage pipe from underneath the state highway. A portion of Alabama 174 collapsed between Bowman Circle and Mineral Springs Road Saturday morning after the torrential rains late Friday night and early Saturday morning. A spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Transportation said workers will install a stronger concrete pipe, and the road is expected to reopen late Wednesday. Pell City Police Chief Greg Turley said Street Department workers were forced to close numerous city roads Saturday, but waters receded and all roads were reopened by late Saturday. “It caught us off guard,” Turley said Monday. He said the Street Department did a good job getting the streets reopened. Turley said a section of U.S. 78 was closed after a vehicle was stranded in standing water along the highway near the WFHK radio station. He said the state helped barricade that section of the highway. He said the flooding also forced the cancellation of LakeFest, but the Bassmaster Southern Open tournament went on as planned Saturday. “I hated it for the LakeFest and the fishing tournament,” Turley said. “…We did not have any lake (level) problems.” He said Logan Martin Lake reached about one foot above the normal summer pool because of the rain. Sylacauga and Childersburg reported strong rain, but no weather damage during the weekend’s storms. “As far as I know, we didn’t have any damage,” Sylacauga Police Capt. Kelley Johnson said. “We had no reports or calls, and I haven’t heard of any damage around town.” Home staff writer Emily Adams contributed to this report.

TALLADEGA — More than 300 soldiers from the Alabama Army National Guard’s 1/167th Infantry Battalion received a warm welcome at their homecoming ceremony at the SPEED Dome at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Monday. An estimated 500 family members, friends and fellow soldiers attended the homecoming. Volunteers from the American Red Cross gave bottles of water to the visitors as they entered the building and Jim ‘N Nicks Barbecue provided food for the guests while they patiently awaited the soldiers’ arrival. The soldiers from Company E in Talladega and Company F in Oxford returned from a nearly 10-month deployment, where the units conducted security force missions in support of the National Training Mission–Afghanistan. The two companies deployed with Companies A-D, from Valley, Pelham, Cullman and Sylacauga, respectively, totaling more than 600 soldiers sent to support Operation Enduring Freedom. According to U.S. Army Lt. Col. J.R. Bass, 1/167th Infantry Battalion commander, the soldiers completed more than 12,000 security missions, and transported and protected the trainers and advisors to the Afghan National Security Forces. “Our soldiers sustained very minor injuries during the deployment,” Bass said. “All passengers transported by our soldiers were delivered safely to their destinations. There were no casualties among those we were sent to protect.” U.S. Army Specialist John Noles is a combat medic in Company E who treated injuries within the unit. “This is the greatest blessing I’ve had — not just seeing myself here, but to be the medic who made sure I’ve gotten all my guys home well, safe and healthy,” Noles said. “I take my job very seriously and I have an attentive eye. These guys don’t complain and it’s my job to see if they’re hurt, not just wait for them to say something, because they won’t. They’ll sit there on a broken leg and not say anything.” Noles said he missed being away from his church, but not quite as much as he missed his family. “Being away from my family is the biggest challenge for me,” Noles said. “Not being able to have as much contact with them and not having the small things like taking my son to school, being there for doctor’s visits or preventing them.” Noles’ stepfather, Johnny Wilkes, a Black Hawk training instructor at Fort Rucker, and his mother, Martha Jean Wilkes, a therapist, greeted him after the soldiers were officially dismissed. Johnny Wilkes recounted a story from Noles’ deployment experience he found to be very telling of just how small the world can be. “He texted me one day and told me he had gotten on a Black Hawk helicopter,” Wilkes said. “As he got onboard, he told the pilot that I was a trainer. The pilot asked him what flight and he told him ‘Stingray.’ The pilot told him I was his trainer. “I train the guys who are over there flying the Black Hawks and he’s riding in the back as a combat medic. It’s an amazing thing.” Noles’ mother commended her son and the unit for all the hard work and sacrifices, but she admitted how tough it was to be the mother of a soldier. “Every time you hear the stories of a helicopter blowing up, an (improvised explosive device) attack or an Afghan insurgent who broke through the ranks and killed people, you take these into your heart, you learn to pray and take a stand in your beliefs and your faith,” she said. “Our faith has been very important to us and that’s one of the things we can do is pray for these soldiers’ safe return.” Contact Shane Dunaway at sdunaway@dailyhome.com.