SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — The 4,300 soldiers of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team conducted more than 30,000 patrols in Iraq, found and cleared 322 roadside bombs and completed more than 170 school and hospital projects on their latest deployment.

They also lost 10 soldiers killed in action, had fewer than a dozen Stryker vehicles destroyed, and medically evacuated fewer than 50 wounded soldiers, officials said.

The accomplishments, wounds and combat losses that came from 15 months in northern Baghdad, Taji, Tarmiyah and Abu Ghraib were on display yesterday as the soldiers stood at attention on Sills Field in a redeployment ceremony following their recent return home.

"It's truly an honor for me to be here to welcome home this great brigade on this field of honor," said Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, head of the Fort Shafter-based U.S. Army Pacific.

Mixon said it was a celebration of the end of a challenging 15-month tour.

"(It was) highly celebrated in the media last summer that the surge was over and the 15-month tours had ended. That was not the case for this brigade, and we need to recognize that," Mixon told hundreds seated under canopies on the breezy and drizzly day.

A subsequent deployment in the fall to northern Iraq by 4,500 soldiers by the 3rd brigade and 25th Infantry Division headquarters will last a year.

A dozen "wounded warriors," two of whom walked with canes, were recognized on the field with applause and a standing ovation.

Brigade commander Col. Todd B. McCaffrey also recognized the greater toll.

"While we are privileged to recognize these (wounded) troops, there are 10 others who returned to this island only in spirit," McCaffrey said, reciting their names.

The soldiers killed were:

• Staff Sgt. Jerald Whisenhunt, Sgt. Timothy Martin, Spc. Michael Manibog and Sgt. Gary Willett, killed when their Stryker vehicle was destroyed in Taji by a roadside bomb.

• Spc. William McMillan III, Pfc. Christopher McCraw and Sgt. John Daggett, killed in or as a result of duty in Baghdad.

• Spc. Jon Schoolcraft III, Spc. Gregory Rundell and Sgt. Kenneth Gibson, killed by roadside bombs or small arms fire in Taji or Tarmiyah.

"We will memorialize these men in our hearts," McCaffrey said.

It was the first combat deployment for the Hawai'i-based Stryker brigade and its approximately 328 eight-wheeled, 19-ton armored vehicles. The unit covered more than 1,300 square miles.

LESSONS LEARNED

Although the soldiers are back, the Stryker vehicles themselves may not start returning to Hawai'i until July or August, said brigade spokesman Maj. Al Hing.

Staff Sgt. Moises Ramirez, 31, who's with the 66th Engineers, said he preferred to ride in a Stryker than in one of the 100 big Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP, vehicles that the brigade received.

"I personally prefer a Stryker, just for the firepower and ability to have multiple people in it just so if something were to happen, you could dismount and establish security," Ramirez said.

The infantry Strykers carry nine passengers and two crew, while the MRAPs the brigade used could hold four, Ramirez said.

Zoe Cheromiah waited in the seating area for her husband, Sgt. Brandon Tiller, 22, who was on the field.

"He celebrated two birthdays in Iraq," Cheromiah said.

Tiller, who is from New Mexico, also missed the birth of his son, Ekahi Tiller, who just turned 1 and was peeking out the window of his stroller yesterday.

"Overall, it was OK. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be," Cheromiah said. "I went back home to New Mexico, so I had a lot of family."

Spc. Isaac Drungo, 37, who was on his first deployment to Iraq and worked with a Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle unit at Camp Taji, said 15 months in Iraq "teaches you about yourself. You learn what type of character you have and durability, mental-wise.

"Honestly, after this deployment, my mindset is I'm pretty sure I can handle any situation now," he added. "We went, did our job. I think we did a very good job, and made it back, thank God."

The soldiers will have about a month of leave. Part of the challenge in the short term will be readjustment back to the slower pace and lower adrenaline level that comes with civilian life.

An increase in Army suicides in recent years resulted in the Army recently ordering a 30-day "stand-down" across the service to re-emphasize suicide prevention.

"I have a charge to all of you on the field and to the families in the stands," said Mixon, the U.S. Army Pacific commander. "We all know that return from deployment can be difficult for soldiers and families. I ask you — as a matter of fact, I pray — that if you need help or assistance in any way, I know that this community, the Army, is ready to help you no matter what your needs may be."

CONSIDERING FUTURE

The planned troop drawdown in Iraq is something many have pondered — including whether they'll ever return to the country.

Capt. Rafal Stachowski, 33, said if he does go back to Iraq, it will be as a trainer.

"(But) I'm pretty sure if I were to deploy again, I'd go to Afghanistan," he said.

McCaffrey, the Stryker brigade commander, said he was "very comfortable" with "where we left (the Iraqis). They were on track with sustainable security."

About 13,000 "Sons of Iraq" who were paid by the U.S. to help maintain security were transferred over to Iraqi government pay on Oct. 1, he said.

McCaffrey, who has done two deployments to Iraq, referred to the comment by a top commander in Iraq of "never say never" about future deployments to Iraq.

"I don't know," McCaffrey said. "I've spent 27 months of my professional career now in Iraq. I think in many ways who I am and what I do as a soldier is defined by Iraq and probably will be in the future, so whether I personally go back to Iraq or not, I will always maintain an interest in what happens in Iraq."