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Iraq vet receives warm welcome back
--GSD Office of State Printing and Mail Services, September 2007
About 35 co-workers and friends welcomed David “Groovy” Brey
back to the GSD Copy Center located on Surface Road on Sept. 24, his
first day back to work after serving in Iraq for more than a year.
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| Brey, a printing machine operator, had worked at GSD for 23 years
before being called to duty by the Army National Guard in March 2006.
Brey said he spent four months in Fort Hood, Texas, before he was deployed
to Balad, Iraq, which is located half-way between Baghdad and Tikrit. |
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| In Iraq, he served as
an aircraft structural staff sergeant
repairing Blackhawk, Apache and CH-47 helicopters.
A 28-year-member of the National Guard, he has served on active duty before,
but this was his first deployment.
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| Joe Tucker, State
Printing administrator,
opened the reception with some warm remarks about Brey.
“David, we’re so proud of the sacrifices you’ve made,” Tucker said.
“We’re so thankful to have you back safe and sound. Welcome home, buddy.”
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| Brey also
was congratulated by Director Hugh Quill, who attended the reception.
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Brey said he is glad to be home.
“It was a very nice homecoming and reception,” Brey said.
“It puts our democratic society in the right perspective
seeing how a Third World country is. We’re definitely a blessed nation.”
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Brey said there is an obvious transition between
being in the military and returning to civilian life.
“It might be [difficult],” Brey said. “We’ll have to see.
It’s a different pace.”
With Brey’s return, the only DAS
employee currently on military leave is Daniel Batts
of the Office of Collective Bargaining.
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