Congrats! As a vet and the father of a daughter who is in the Army, I know exactly how you feel. Let your son know that we all appreciate his sacrifices to our country are very much appreciated and if/when he has to return there, we all wish for his safe homecoming.
This thread is bringing a tear to my eye. 
I’m so glad your son is home, Shodan. Merry Christmas!
I’m so glad for you! Having just gotten out of Afghanistan, I know how great it is to be home. Enjoy your holidays!
That’s great! But a question - when is he coming to Madison and by what mode of transportation? Starting now until midnight tomorrow we are expecting up to 14 inches of snow. Then on Thursday it is supposed to get unseasonably cold.
Congratulations and have a great Christmas with him!
I hope he and all Doper loved ones stay safe and cherished.
He is driving his new car (he bought one with part of his bonus). He is not leaving until Friday, so I think and hope he will be OK.
You do sound like a mom, Rascal’s Mom.
Thanks to you all for your warm wishes, which I will pass along to him.
Regards,
Shodan
Congrats. Glad he’s home safe. You have every right to be proud.
Hah! Same from me!
When I was inprocessing into this base (my first base after tech school), the Wing Commander took some time out of his day to load a bunch of us First Term Airmen onto a bus out to the flight line to greet a KC-135 Stratotanker (refueling plane, related to the old Boeing 707 airliners if you’re not familiar with it). When the tankers return home from a deployment, they usually also carry a load of airmen who are also returning (I hear it’s fun to fly across the atlantic in an airplane with web seating and no windows…)
Anyhow, one of the guys getting off the plane just about got tackled by his wife as she and their kid (who had been born while he was deployed even) ran over to greet him.
Now, mind you, this didn’t make me tear up at all, manly man that I am. The Kansas wind did seem to kick some dust up on the flight line though, so of course I had to wipe that from my eyes.
I’m super glad that your son is home safe, Shodan. Tell him that I and my fellow Airmen thank him for his service and say “Welcome Home.”
It’s gonna be very different for him - after most of a year serving overseas, he’s fully an adult, and the typical college student isn’t really. (I sure wasn’t.) He may wind up with a very different set of friends once he’s back.
But that’s for later. Right now, it’s time for him to just enjoy being back in the U.S., and for you to enjoy his being back home with you. Give him my best regards!
Congratulations on getting your son back and in one piece. There are thousands of other families who envy you.
That’s great news, Shodan.
I’m so happy for your family, Shodan! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Fantastic news, Shodan. Enjoy and make the most of it. and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Woots for the whole family! I’m buying! Tell him “Thank you!” and enjoy the next couple of weeks!
Congrats for a very happy holiday! I hope we can bring them all home soon.
It finally dawned on me that I never said that I was happy for you and your son that he is home safe.
Although we have disagreed more than once on political and ideological issues, that should never be grounds for insult or incivility, and I sincerely regret that you were subjected to it in the Pit thread for an inadvertent comparison here.
Glad he’s home, and give him a big thank you hug for me.
Congratulations on him being home safe and sound! And another who’d like to offer him a big old “thank you.”
Hooray! Hooray! I’m so happy for you. Doesn’t it feel good to finally let out that breath you didn’t realize you were holding the whole time he was gone?
My eldest spent a year in Korea and then 3 months in Afghanistan and I’m glad it’s over.
I’m very happy your son is home; I wish he were here to stay.