Sheila Cannon is trying to coordinate a homecoming for the 252nd Military Police Company without knowing exactly when the unit is returning to Cleveland.

First, she didn’t know if it was Saturday or Sunday.

It’s Sunday.

Cannon is the family readiness group coordinator. She is not in the military, but she is the one the commanding officer depends on to disseminate unit information to families of the 170 soldiers.

What time Sunday?

“I don’t know right now,” she said Thursday evening at the armory on Dalton Pike. “All we know is they’ll arrive sometime Sunday afternoon.”

Most of the homecoming work to hang banners is scheduled to be done today and Saturday. She wasn’t sure how many families would show up Thursday evening. It was only a short time before she left her home in the Chattanooga area that Cannon posted a comment on Facebook announcing she would be at the armory around 5:30 p.m.

“We’re not planning a big elaborate ceremony,” she said. “We are trying have things to keep families occupied while they are waiting.”

Many of the soldiers are from Chattanooga. Karen Phillips, of Cleveland, and Sgt. 1st Class Joey Perry were the only people with Cannon.

Phillips is a former Army supply specialist who supports the military when she can. Perry is a member of the rear detachment who works at the armory.

Phillips’ husband, Ronnie “Twin” Phillips retired from the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

“I’m helping because I’m a veteran and I support the troops,” she said. “They need to be welcomed home. Years ago, they weren’t treated that well.

“The moms and wives are all overwhelmed,” Phillips said. “They want a nice homecoming, but they are just overwhelmed.”