Central Georgia Soldier Gets Surprise Homecoming | News

A Central Georgia soldier returned home today after spending eighteen months in Afghanistan.

The family of Army Specialist Jordan Clements cooked up a big surprise to welcome him home.

Clements rode in style from the airport in Atlanta down I-75.  His family arranged for a white limo to meet him and bring him home.

"I'm so excited, so excited. I can't wait." says Candy Clements, Jordan's stepmother. His father said, "  My baby's finally coming home."

Clements' brother, Dusty, says Jordan has no idea what his family has planned. "He thinks we're all at the airport waiting for him right now," says Dusty Clements.

When Army Specialist Clements landed in Atlanta and saw that his whole family wasn't there waiting for him like usual, he called his father.

Answering his cell phone James Clements says, "We'll see you when you get home."

Clements' stepmother, father and brother are all members of the Patriot Guard Riders and planned to have the group escort him back to his hometown.

The soldier signed up for the Army a year after graduating from Northside High School. His stepmother Candy says that decision was rough on her and the rest of the family.
"It's just a mother's instinct, you know, we don't want our children to be in harms way." says Candy.

Jordan told his father that it was his calling to serve in the military. James says "It's a scary feeling to send your kid off to a war zone, and he's been twice."

Sandra Schliekelman, Jordan's mother says she feels lucky that her son is coming home. "Prayed everyday and god has blessed us because he's coming home," she said.

Clements' family waited anxiously as the limo rounded the corner at the Peach Shops in Byron.

"I thought he was just taking the back way home." says Clements, "It's great to be home. It's been a long time ."

His father says he's looking forward to one thing.

"I'm going to have all my kids together this Christmas for the first time in five years." says James.

Army Specialist Clements says he plans to attend college next year.  He says he wants to become a nurse.