Green and the other 80 troops in the New York National Guard’s 466th Area Support Medical Co. returned home from an 11-month and 22-day tour in Iraq.

“It’s a good feeling,” Green said of being home.

He said a lot of people came out to see them return at the airport. Not long after returning home, Green went to a birthday party for his niece.

This past Sunday, Green and others were greeted with hand shakes, hugs and smiles at the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge.

“It’s great to see everyone and have them all in one spot to say thank you,” Green said.

Sfc. Pat Rocco, a firefighter and EMT for Saratoga Springs, said he didn’t think the celebration was going to be as big as it was.

“I saw people I haven’t seen in 20 years,” Rocco said. “It’s amazing to see the support of the community while we were in Iraq and coming back home.”

While serving in Iraq, Green said the community sent a lot of care packages and pictures from home.

Rocco agrees and said the support from the region was tremendous.

“We appreciate what they did,” Rocco said.

The Internet and email played a big role in troops staying in touch with loved ones state side.

“We emailed everyday and talked every few days,” Green said. “The time difference made the phone calls a little problematic.”

Rocco said the 8-hour time difference is catching up to him.

“I find myself waking up at 2 a.m.,” Rocco said.

He kept abreast of local activities by checking the headlines on the Internet.

Green was the unit commander and had to stay in contact with headquarters, monitor soldier movement and basic responsibilities of running a hospital. Green stayed up-to-date on local news by checking local newspapers and television station’s Web sites.

He’s even going back to work this week as a local dentist. Neighbors had signs all over the neighborhood when Green arrived home too. He said it is a long time to be away from your family, friends and job. A friend he went to school with, Dan Fleming took over his office for the time he was gone.

“I’m getting back into a routine this week,” Green said. “And getting reacquainted with everyone again.”

Bringing his two children – 12-year-old John and 10-year-old Caroline – to cross-country and gymnastic practices, after school activities and helping with homework are all part of getting back to normal for Green.

Rocco said he’s been spending time with the family and will probably go back to work in a week or two. He said he missed the environment of New York, because there is nothing like the Adirondacks or Lake George in Iraq.

He said where the unit was stationed was dry and had the same longitude as Jacksonville.

So what has changed since the troops left 15 months ago?

“Everything has changed a little,” he said regarding development and kids growing up quickly.

Green has hit some golf balls since getting home and plans to go see an Army football game in November with his son.

Rocco said he went golfing on Monday and hopes to go again before winter.

The unit is off for a mandated 90 days and will have its first drill in January. Some of the members will go back to their original units and some are currently training the next medical unit to go to Iraq.

“They are giving them knowledge of how things are going over there, how things work and how to get supplies and patients from point A to point B,” Green said.

The unit ran a larger hospital in southern Iraq along with three smaller satellite bases. Green described the hospital as more like an urgent care facility like in Wilton but with emergency care and surgery units.

Green said detainees, local civilians, Iraqi police and other coalition forces were all treated at the hospital.

“Local Iraqis are no different than us,” Green said. “They want something better for their kids and to one day not be at war.”

Green said the unit is pushing for getting two translators citizenship here in the United States.

“They are risking a lot,” he said.

He said Arabic is a hard language to learn, so the translators are very important.

Green said when soldiers get deployed they know they are going to a dangerous place. The people that deserve the credit are the people left without the soldiers.

“The families home deserve the credit,” he said. “They keep everything together while we’re gone.”

He said friends and the community were very supportive of his wife, Liz, and the two children.