495th back on U.S. soil after 9 months in Afghanistan

After a nine-month deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan, members of the 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion of the Montana National Guard are excited to be almost home.

The members of the Kalispell-based battalion are in Texas, a stop-over point on their way back to Montana.

“We got to Fort Hood Sunday night and we’ve begun our demobilization process,” said 1st Lt. Dan Bushnell, deputy public affairs officer with the unit. “We’re hoping to be home soon, maybe within a week, but we don’t have an exact date yet. We’re all just glad to be back in the States.”

The 69 members of the battalion coordinated and ran tactical convoys on some of the most dangerous roads in southern Afghanistan and also looked after the well-being of any troops and equipment entering their area of responsibility.

“We conducted 350 successful tactical convoy operations, returned about 18 million pounds of equipment for retrograde, we ran the largest supply support area with a total value of more than $50 million, and we ran the main supply route through our region,” 495th commander Lt. Col. Don Gillespie said. 

“We had about 1,400 soldiers under our command and were presented with some unique challenges, but everyone did an amazing job and I’m really proud of them. We supported about 60,000 personnel, which is huge, but I’m very proud of our Montana Guardsmen.”

This is not Gillespie’s first deployment, and he has some advice for his soldiers and their family members to help make the return home as smooth as possible.

“There’s a saying we used while we were deployed, and it holds true here: Go slow to go fast,” Gillespie said. “Sometimes you have to take things easy and slow down so you can make forward progress.

“In this case, we’ve all changed in nine months, and our families that remained behind have changed, too. That spouse has had to hold down the fort and has become very independent. Our roles may have changed and we’ve got to ease back into things and make that transition as easy as we can.”

Gillespie explained how he intends to make that transition: “Personally, I want to spend quality time with my family and maybe go on a float trip and enjoy the outdoors and all Montana has to offer.” 

Spc. Mark Fallon has his own plans for his return to the Flathead Valley — he looks forward to getting back into refereeing high school sports.

“I plan on seeing my parents and sister and relaxing for a few days before getting back into things,” Fallon said. “I referee a lot of high school soccer and basketball games, and I am looking forward to getting back into that. Then I’ll either go to the community college and take some classes or get a job, it just depends on how things go.”

This was Fallon’s first deployment, and he looks at it as a positive experience.

“It was a good experience for a first deployment,” he said. “I got to meet and interact with a lot of great people.”

Fallon transferred to the 495th specifically for this deployment and he said he was glad he did.

“It was just a great bunch of people, and it was a good experience,” he said. “But it’s definitely nice to be back in the U.S. The biggest relief was just being able to breathe clean air. Seeing the sun rise here and knowing I’m one step closer to the lovely Montana skies and home is huge. I can’t wait.” 

Reporter Melissa Walther may be reached at 758-4474 or by email at mwalther@dailyinterlake.com.