Arnco-Sargent
Elementary
School
students
had a
chance
to meet
veterans
of the
U.S. war
in Iraq
on
Wednesday,
and get
a
close-up
look at
the
equipment
troops
use to
keep
them
safe.
In
January,
Sergeant
Dan
Homan
and
fellow
members
of his
U.S.
Army
bomb
squad
just
came
home to
Georgia
after
spending
six
months
in Iraq
clearing
roadways
of
explosives
north of
the
Iraqi
city of
Tikrit.
Homan is
a Coweta
County
resident
married
to
Arnco-Sargent
teacher
Kim
Homan,
and the
couple
also has
two sons
that
attend
the
school –
first-grader
Jeffery
and
pre-Kindergarten
student
Gabriel.
On
Wednesday,
Homan
brought
three
fellow
members
of the
723rd OD
Company
Bomb
Squad
with him
to the
school,
including
Sergeant
Charles
Johnston,
Sergeant
David
Cozad
and
Specialist
Matthew
McCarty
– all
recently
returned
from
Iraq
also.
The four
men
brought
specialized
body
armor
(students
tried it
on) and
bomb-clearing
equipment
used by
the
squad.
The bomb
squad
spent
July
through
December
in
northern
Iraq.
The
24-member
unit
consisted
of four
operating
teams
that
disarmed
over 352
explosive
devices,
clearing
71,000
miles of
highway.
Homan
was
modest
about
the
accomplishment,
saying
that
similar
Baghdad
units
cleared
more.
But
soldiers
within
the
24-member
unit
have
received
between
them
seven
Bronze
stars
and 17
Army
Commendation
Medals
for
their
recent
service.
Homan
said his
squad is
scheduled
to
rotate
back to
Iraq
later
this
year.
Because
of
Homan’s
ties to
Arnco-Sargent,
students
and
teachers
there
have
followed
the
squad
during
their
service
in Iraq.
“They
have
played a
huge
role in
our
lives
this
year.
These
men mean
the
world to
us,”
said
teacher
Jessica
Rogers.
“We
would
like to
give
them
some
recognition
for
serving
our
country
as they
have… We
would
like for
people
to know
what a
wonderful
group of
men they
are and
what
they did
to
support
our
country.”
Arnco-Sargent
student
Jeffery
Homan,
left,
tries
out a
remote
bomb-clearing
device
brought
in by
his
father’s
Army
unit,
the
723rd OD
Company
Bomb
Squad,
based at
Fort
Gillem,
and
recently
back
from
service
in Iraq.
Helping
him are
members
of the
unit,
including,
left to
right,
Sergeant
David
Cozad,
Specialist
Matthew
McCarty,
Sergeant
Charles
Johnston,
and
Jeffery’s
father,
Sergeant
Dan
Homan.
Specialist
Matthew
McCarty,
of the
723rd OD
Company
Bomb
Squad,
lets
Arnco-Sargent
student
Alex
Hughes
try on
the
heavy,
protective
coat
that
protects
the
squad
members
as they
clear
explosive
devices
in Iraq.
In the
background,
Sergeant
Charles
Johnston
talks to
students
about
his
unit’s
experiences
in Iraq.
U.S.
Army
Sergeant
Dan
Homan,
of the
723rd OD
Company
Bomb
Squad,
helps
Arnco-Sargent
student
Brandyn
Gritton
try on a
specialized
helmet
Homan
and his
unit
used in
Iraq.
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