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"It's a green bag," said Specialist Sachita Pandey as she searches for her duffle among the piles of other soldiers' stacked bags at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. Pandey was among the 3,500 soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood catching a flight out of Lambert on Monday to go home for the holidays. After about 10 minutes of searching she found her bag and caught her flight home to California to see family. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
A Delta customer service representative helps a soldier navigate the check-in process at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood grab their bags and head into St. Louis Lambert International Airport after a briefing from a drill sergeant on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday to go home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Bus loads of soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood arrive at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Bus loads of soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood line up outside St. Louis Lambert International Airport as they wait on final instructions from a drill sergeant on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Daisy Oliva Harness, 7, hands out a box of sweet treats to soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood outside the USO at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
ST. LOUIS — Young soldiers by the hundreds packed St. Louis Lambert International Airport before sunrise Monday preparing to fly home for two weeks of freedom.
The Army post at Fort Leonard Wood bused them in waves to the airport for Holiday Block Leave so they can spend time with family. They must report back to the post by Jan. 3.
Private 2nd Class Daniel Quiroz waited for his flight to Chicago to meet a daughter he’s never seen. Camila, his only child, was born in August while Quiroz was in basic training.
As Quiroz sat on a bench at Lambert, the backpack at his feet carried a onesie for Camila, an outfit emblazoned with an “Army life” phrase.
“I just want to spend time with her,” said Quiroz, 19.
Many of the men and women arriving at Lambert from Fort Leonard Wood have been away from home anywhere from one month to four months in training, said Col. Gary Law, 1st Engineer Brigade commander.
“Most have changed drastically,” Law said. “More mature and polite. Goal-oriented.”
Law said the young soldiers not only get two weeks to recharge, but they will be the Army’s best recruiters when they explain to younger siblings and high school buddies what Army life is all about.
Law came to Lambert to supervise the exodus. Once he ensures that the soldiers are off, Law plans to spend his own holiday break on the slopes in Colorado, skiing black-diamond runs.
Some 3,500 soldiers are heading home through Lambert. Most are flying out Monday and Tuesday. About 2,000 others are going home on a bus or were picked up at the post by a parent.
3,500 soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood flooded into St. Louis Lambert International Airport as part of the annual exodus for the holidays on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021.
Video by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
The USO helped greet them and feed them. Last Friday, nearly 1,000 Marines came through the airport, and members of the Air Force and Navy over the weekend.
The annual tradition was a raucous affair in years past, with dance parties and soldiers lined up to pose in photos with Santa. The sendoff this year was toned down a bit, in part due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Army said.
The mood this year was more subdued. For starters, commanders could be overheard telling the soldiers to politely decline any request from the media for an interview. (This, despite the fact that reporters previously have been encouraged to cover the tradition at Lambert and talk freely with soldiers.)
Masked soldiers on Monday still collected food from the USO and bags stuffed with freebies from volunteers, like previous years. But then drill sergeants quickly directed them to walk behind a black curtain and gather in a vacant part of the terminal, instead of lounging in the open.
Commanders said they were trying to keep the soldiers away from the general public at the terminal because of the coronavirus.
It was a big difference from the casual scenes in previous years when soldiers were seen relaxing, sometimes sleeping under computer work stations, on benches or on the floor in the public terminal — something Fort Leonard Wood spokesman Steve Standifird said wasn’t a good image.
Staff Sgt. Bobby Ray said he wants the young soldiers to go home and enjoy themselves.
“But don’t lose their military bearing and discipline,” he said. “Stay professional.”
"It's a green bag," said Specialist Sachita Pandey as she searches for her duffle among the piles of other soldiers' stacked bags at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. Pandey was among the 3,500 soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood catching a flight out of Lambert on Monday to go home for the holidays. After about 10 minutes of searching she found her bag and caught her flight home to California to see family. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Daisy Oliva Harness, 7, hands out a box of sweet treats to soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood outside the USO at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Bus loads of soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood arrive at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Bus loads of soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood line up outside St. Louis Lambert International Airport as they wait on final instructions from a drill sergeant on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood grab their bags and head into St. Louis Lambert International Airport after a briefing from a drill sergeant on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday to go home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
A Delta customer service representative helps a soldier navigate the check-in process at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
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Kim Bell is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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"It's a green bag," said Specialist Sachita Pandey as she searches for her duffle among the piles of other soldiers' stacked bags at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. Pandey was among the 3,500 soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood catching a flight out of Lambert on Monday to go home for the holidays. After about 10 minutes of searching she found her bag and caught her flight home to California to see family. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
A Delta customer service representative helps a soldier navigate the check-in process at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood grab their bags and head into St. Louis Lambert International Airport after a briefing from a drill sergeant on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday to go home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Bus loads of soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood arrive at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Bus loads of soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood line up outside St. Louis Lambert International Airport as they wait on final instructions from a drill sergeant on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Daisy Oliva Harness, 7, hands out a box of sweet treats to soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood outside the USO at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. 3,500 soldiers flooded Lambert to catch a flight on Monday on their way home for the holidays. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
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