One of the first stories I wrote this year dealt with a then-upcoming deployment of Fort Bragg soldiers.
So it is only fitting that, as this year draws to a close, we've been pretty busy writing about Fort Bragg troops returning home from Afghanistan.
But while the war in Afghanistan has served as the bookends to 2014, there has been plenty of news in between.
Thousands of Fort Bragg soldiers were deployed, but the nation's largest military installation had a year full of change.
The 82nd Airborne Division shuffled its deck, saying goodbye to the 4th Brigade Combat Team and related units while welcoming the return of the Division Artillery and integrating former 4th Brigade units into other brigades.
And the 82nd's 18th Fires Brigade reinvented itself. It will now fire the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, better known as HiMARS .
All the while, the 82nd Airborne made terms such as "interdependency" and "interoperability" common as the division upped its training with foreign paratroopers and special operations forces.
The division also welcomed a new commander, Maj. Gen. Richard Clarke.
That was one of several key changes to Fort Bragg leadership.
Clarke took the place of Maj. Gen. John Nicholson.
Elsewhere on Fort Bragg, Maj. Gen. Kurt Stein handed over the reins of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command to Maj. Gen. Darrel Williams, and Gen. Daniel Allyn turned over U.S. Army Forces Command to Gen. Mark Milley.
There also were more somber farewells, including the funeral for Medal of Honor recipient Cpl. Rudolfo Hernandez and a memorial for Spc. Kelli Bordeaux, whose body was found two years after her disappearance in Fayetteville.
Other changes were more physical.
Fort Bragg officials contended with multiple road closures as crews worked to build the Interstate 295 connector to Interstate 95. Leaders also broke ground on several Fort Bragg facilities, including a new Fisher House and an Intrepid Spirit Center.
Fort Bragg started new traditions, including the All American Marathon, and honored the past, participating in ceremonies marking the anniversaries of Operation Market Garden and D-Day, which both occurred 70 years ago, and the Green Ramp Disaster, a fatal plane crash that claimed the lives of two dozen paratroopers and injured more than 100 more in 1994.
The year also was one of uncertainty.
News of potential troop cuts, tighter budgets and the fate of the 440th Airlift Wing, a one-star Air Force Reserve unit marked for inactivation, dominated the headlines at times.
And, of course, the year had its share of scandal.
Fort Bragg hosted the court-martial for then-Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, who was convicted of adultery and inappropriate relationships with two women.
At least one brigade commander was relieved of duty for misconduct, and the commander of Womack Army Medical Center was relieved after senior Army medical leaders lost "trust and confidence" in him.
What does 2015 have in store?
If I had to guess, it will be a pretty familiar year.
Fort Bragg soldiers remain in Afghanistan, and more are slated to head to Iraq and West Africa.
Uncertainty with budgets remain and likely will for the near future.
And leaders will continue to come and go.
All the while, Fort Bragg will keep doing what it typically does. Soldiers will train, and some of the nation's most called-upon forces will continue to prepare for whatever challenges the military faces next.
Through it all, that is what Fort Bragg does best.
©2014 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.)
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