FORT BRAGG, NC (WTVD) -- The first set of Fort Bragg troops assigned to the Ebola mission in Liberia returned home Thursday afternoon.
About 20 soldiers arrived by bus to the Post. Eleven of the soldiers came from the 50th Expeditionary Signal Battalion. The remaining come from other 18th Airborne Corps units, including the 27th Public Affairs Detachment. The soldiers who worked with the 50th Signal Battalion were responsible to setting up communication mechanisms in and around Ebola Treatment Units, while the 27th PAD soldiers documented the journey of this medical mission.
The group, which left for West Africa in November, has spent the last several weeks under mandatory quarantine at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. The 21-day quarantine included temperature checks twice a day, and other monitoring mechanisms to ensure the troops were Ebola-free.
The mission ended considerably early for the troops, who were told during summer training to expect a "worst-case scenario" deployment of one year.
"The fact we're able to get you back home, earlier than we originally thought you were going to be deployed, even speaks to the quality you were able to accomplish in the short amount of time you were there, and the progress that's being made in theater," said Maj. Gen. Jefforey Smith, Deputy Commanding General of the 18th Airborne Corps.
Smith told the troops the containment mission has been successful.
About 100 Fort Bragg troops, including those with the 44th Medical Brigade, remain deployed in West Africa. There is no word on their exact return date, but returning soldiers noted the containment mission winding down with the transfer of the Ebola Treatment Units.
Returning soldiers said Thursday that the mission differed from anything they expected when they deployed late last year.
"The way that it was portrayed in the media, it did have you scared," said Staff Sgt. David Meyer, who is with the 27th PAD. "But once you got over there, and you saw how everyone reacted, and you saw that it was a bad situation, but it really wasn't as bad as it sounded... 'cause the way it sounded the entire country was overrun with it [Ebola] and it wasn't like that."
"[We] took it a day at a time, and it got easier, real comfortable," added Pfc. Evan Smith, noting the routine of putting on and taking off protection suits.
While the returning troops didn't have direct contact with Ebola patients, they did have some interaction in documenting the medical work, and in day-to-day crossing near the ETUs.
"It was instant that you knew you were making a difference," said Meyer.
"They'd just come up and see us and really be appreciative and grateful," said Sgt. Matthew Britton. "It's just something you don't really see too often. It was nice."
Some soldier noted a humbling experience to witness the treatment for Ebola patients. They also talked about being able to relieve family members of any concerns regarding their own health.
"It makes you a lot more appreciative," said Smith.
Fort Bragg served as one of the first training sites for U.S. personnel deploying to West Africa for Operation Unified Assistance, the global mission to contain the spread of Ebola. The Department of Defense also designated Bragg as a quarantine site. Although the post is equipped to handle that, the DOD has not yet called on them to accommodate returning troops.