The Webster Progress-Times

Sgt. Sullivan McKibben is glad to be back home in Webster County after 18 months on active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The National Guardsman arrived at his home on Hobby Road in the Grady community the week before Christmas. His wife, Debra, and her close-knit family were also eagerly awaiting his return from service, which included nearly a full year in Iraq.

A yard full of family, friends and neighbors showed their support and care for him before he left for Camp Shelby en route to Iraq in December 2004, and when he came back home on leave in October.

McKibben is a member of Eupora's Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery, which provided fire support to the 155th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq. The ammo team chief has been in the Guard for 26 years.

McKibben received a Combat Action Badge for engaging or being engaged by the enemy while in Iraq. One such incident occurred in January 2005 as the unit was leaving Kuwait and the convoy was ambushed while stopped at a bridge.

McKibben said he and his fellow guardsmen heard bullets pinging off the metal of their armored vehicles and returned fire with their machine guns, adding that a helicopter crew went back later and found three enemy soldiers dead

While in Iraq, the unit stayed about nine months in Iskandariyah, pushing Iraqi insurgents further north. Following this, the unit was based for three months at Camp Hitt near the Syrian border. During this time, the unit provided backup to a nearby Marine camp and destroyed weapons caches.

"The first place we went to was in the 'red zone' and we got mortared," he recalled.

The unit helped handle and provide security over insurgent detainees who were being interrogated by interpreters.

"They told us we were the nicest people they'd ever seen," McKibben said, explaining that they fed the detainees and gave them medical attention, and did not hit or beat them.

He also said the common people told them they were glad the military was there, and that they hoped the insurgents would see that U.S. troops were helping and not trying to hurt them.

He acknowledged that it has been hard for him to adjust to civilian life since returning home. Debra said he did not sleep much the first few weeks back and "walked the perimeter" at times, checking the house to make sure everything was OK.

"(The quiet) bothers you more than anything," said McKibben, who was used to being on alert around the clock.

McKibben has applied for another year's active duty to help train troops at Camp Shelby who are preparing to go to Iraq. Before being activated, he was a surveyor with Calvert-Spradling Engineers.