Navy Commander Welcomed Home After Afghan Tour

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Greg Roach was given a hero's greeting Wednesday by members of Operation Welcome You Home, who set up a flag line and escorted him and his family to their Plainfield home.

Plainfield Patch reader Ralph Osuch was there for his return and caputured these candid photos, which he has graciously shared with us.

Roach, who just completed a nine-month tour as the executive officer of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kunar, Afghanistan, has completed his military assignment and plans to return to his Nuclear Regulatory Commission job at the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant.

He earned a Bronze Star for his meritorious service.

According to , Roach grew up on Long Island, N.Y,, and he now lives in Plainfield with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, Gregory and Kate.

Roach earned a bachelor's degree in marine engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and a master's degree in nuclear engineering at Georgia Tech.

He served in the Navy’s submarine force aboard the USS Asheville in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and taught at the Naval Academy. After leaving active duty in 2004 he began working for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Lisle. Assignments at the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant and the LaSalle Nuclear Power Plant as a resident inspector followed. He continued his Naval career as a reservist at Great Lakes Naval Station.