When Army Specialist Troy Reed landed at Bishop International Airport in Flint on Monday morning’he was anticipating to be welcomed by a few family members, along with perhaps a friend or two.
‘I did not expect that much of a homecoming at the airport,? said Reed, 29, a 1999 Brandon High School graduate. ‘I really did not know what to do? I just shook hands with everyone that was lined up to welcome me home.?
Reed was greeted in the Flint airport by family members and a line of Patriot Guard, H.I.M.(Hogs In Ministry) and representatives of the Davison AMVets. Some of the group provided Reed a motorcycle escorted from Bishop Airport near I-69 and I-75 to his home in Ortonville. Troy’s older brother, Bill Reed, a Marine veteran who served in Somalia and Kuwait, organized the homecoming and rode in the procession.
‘I was in Khowst, Afghanistan for one year,? said Reed. ‘For the most part, the people there are very nice and have a pretty good attitude toward Americans. There are a very few select individuals that make it bad for everyone else. I did not see a lot of fire-fights. However, I did see places where battles did take place.?
During his year of service, Reed traveled around Afghanistan and evaluated the living conditions of soldiers.
‘For the most part, conditions were pretty good for our troops. Many live in brick and mortar buildings. Afghanistan is mostly cold and mountainous, but the area where I lived was in a valley and had pretty nice weather conditions.?
Reed joined the Army in January 2008 and was stationed at Fort Richardson, Alaska before he was moved to Afghanistan.
‘I’ve requested to go back to Alaska in April,? he said. ‘For the next few years I’ll be working on mapping the Alaska wilderness. The maps will be used for training troops.?
Both Bill and Troy are the sons of Barbra and Michael Reed of Ortonville.