The soldiers are from a wide variety of communities in Western and Central Massachusetts.
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WARE — They were supposed to be home in January after serving a 10-month deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but instead 130 Army National Guard members and their families received a holiday surprise Wednesday.
"I can't think of a better present than this one. This is a beautiful surprise," said Kelly Field, whose husband, Capt. Tyler Field of Bridgewater, commanded the 747th Military police company and the 211 Military Police Detachment during the mission.
"This is the best Christmas present ever," said Jane Grigg, of Framingham, who has five sons in the military and welcomed home her youngest, newly minted Sgt. Joshua Grigg, for Christmas.
Collectively her sons, who serve in the Army National Guard and the Marines, have been deployed at least eight times and each return is special, she said.
Grigg, who has also served in Afghanistan and Qatar, made his return extra special by calling his mother on her Dec. 19 birthday to tell her he would be home for Christmas.
"It was different from the other two but I learned a lot," Grigg said about his deployment in Cuba.
The unit's job was essentially supervision detention operations. He said the soldiers worked long shifts but had no major problems.
The group of 130 men and women are from more than 75 cities and towns, mainly in Central and Western Massachusetts, including Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield, West Springfield, Westfield and East Longmeadow. They left for training in February and spent about nine months in Cuba. About two weeks ago they left Guantanamo Bay for Texas, where they went through a variety of demobilization exercises. Members said the exercises were fast-tracked and they flew into Westover Metropolitan Airport in Chicopee and then bused to Ware High School to meet their families at about 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
"He left a family of three and came back to a family of four," said Marci Morris, of Wilbraham, whose husband Staff Sgt. Kevin Morris returned. "We are so excited. He missed out on a lot."
What he missed included the birth of their son Kellen, now 6 months old. Morris was able to come home for a short time after his birth, but he teared up when his wife handed him their youngest son and he saw how big he grew.
Equally exciting was his chance to see his daughter Maeghan, who just turned 3 and is excited about Christmas and Santa for the first time. She laughed and said "Daddy's home" when he lifted her into his arms.
"I'm just happy to be home," he said.
Ryan Collette, of Ludlow, a member of the National Guard for six years, was promoted to sergeant while in Cuba. Now that he is home, he said he plans to focus on starting a new career in law enforcement, like many of his family members.
"It was a great experience. I'm proud to work with the 747th," he said.
The unit's main job was as correctional officers guarding the prison. They did not leave Guantanamo Bay and were gone before President Obama announced a a historic overhaul of Cuba policy including the embargo against the country.
The unit worked with military police from a variety of other Army units and a few Navy sailors. He said they all successfully joined together to do the job needed.
"Honestly, we in Cuba for nine months and it feels like I just got off the plane," he said.
Field and 1st Sgt. William Dufault, of Worcester, called the mission a success.
"We were under the public a lot and they did a great job," Dufault said.
Before the group was dismissed to be with their families, Maj. Gen. L. Scott Rice, the state's adjutant general for the National Guard, awarded them with a plaque and thanked them for a job well done.
"I want to say thank you for your sacrifice. Merry Christmas and happy holidays," he said.
The one difficulty, families said, was communications were poor so they had little contact with the soldiers. Linda Collette said she was able to talk to her Ryan Collette just twice. Her son sent his only sister, Katelyn Belliveau, a 20-second video on the day of her wedding and it took a half-day to download.
Missing the wedding was difficult, but his early arrival made up for it. "Best Christmas ever," Collette said.
This was the second deployment for Sgt. First Class Jesus Vazquez, of Charlton, who served in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012. While the mission was very different, the unit prepared in the same way.
He said he was especially happy to make it home for Christmas for his son Castiel, 5, daughter Serenity, 1, and wife Jessica.
"It has been especially hard on my son. This is the second time I've left him," he said.