Story and video by Daniel Woolfolk
After eight months at sea, Sgt. Johnny Kirk, 25, of Ramona embraced his family.
"It's great to be home and back with my family," he said alongside his mother, Kathy, and his father, John.
Kirk was one of about 500 Marines and Sailors from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364 that touched down on Camp Pendleton Monday.
The group deployed to the Pacific and Middle East with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The unit described its mission in a release:
Kirk was greeted by extended family, which planned to hold the Christmas dinner he missed. On the Menu? Burritos, of course.
On Tuesday, the family would go out. His mother recommended the Turkey Inn in Ramona, which is the kind of place he said he was looking for: "somewhere with margaritas."
After eight months at sea, Sgt. Johnny Kirk, 25, of Ramona embraced his family.
"It's great to be home and back with my family," he said alongside his mother, Kathy, and his father, John.
Kirk was one of about 500 Marines and Sailors from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364 that touched down on Camp Pendleton Monday.
The group deployed to the Pacific and Middle East with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The unit described its mission in a release:
The 15th MEU conducted several theater security cooperation exercises designed to lay a framework for regional security and military interoperability, with partners in the Western Pacific and Middle East.Marines and sailors also conducted bilateral training in Djibouti, Africa that kept the unit prepared to serve as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout its deployment.Scheduled port calls for the MEU included stops in Thailand, Bali, Australia, Oman, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.
Kirk was greeted by extended family, which planned to hold the Christmas dinner he missed. On the Menu? Burritos, of course.
On Tuesday, the family would go out. His mother recommended the Turkey Inn in Ramona, which is the kind of place he said he was looking for: "somewhere with margaritas."
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