Soldier surprises mom with Christmas homecoming

PETALUMA, Calif.

SFC. Tanya Sharkey had just finished a nine month tour of Afghanistan and came home earlier than expected.

Sharkey has been in town for a few days, but she hadn't told her mom until lunchtime on Sunday.

"I just put on Facebook the other day, this would be the first Christmas without her," mom Sharon Sharky said. "This is the best Christmas I ever had."

Sharkey sent pictures from her time in Afghanistan. She was part of the 352nd Combat Support Hospital and treated troops as well as locals.

Sharkey said she and her group changed the lives of the people there, and that after 13 years of serving her country, she's ready to begin a new phase of her life.

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