La. Guardsmen Depart Iraq to Find Families (AP)

CAMP VICTORY, Kuwait - A plane carrying 100 Louisiana National Guardsmen left this U.S. base in the desert late Thursday, most returning to damaged homes and families-turned-refugees by Hurricane Katrina.

The troops ended their Iraq duty a little more than a week before they were scheduled to return to the United States on regular rotation.

"We were ecstatic because we were going home," said Sgt. Jackie Gantt, 39, of St. Rose, La., just outside New Orleans.

But after the ravages of the hurricane, New Orleans is no longer home.

"It's like Armageddon hit the city," said Gantt, who was a medic at a military prison for Iraqi insurgents. "We were scared to death. We don't know what our houses are going to be like. We don't know what our situation is. Some guys have nothing."

AP Photo: Louisiana National Guards of the 256th Brigade Combat team follow a briefing prior their departure...

Semper Fi