TAMPA, Fla. \u2014\u00a0Nearly 20,000 American citizens have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East\u00a0since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, one Tampa native was finally able to make his safe return to Tampa International Airport.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Tampa resident Cody Greene was in Dubai when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28\u00a0 In the warm embrace of loved ones, Cody Greene said he was happy to be back home, a moment he longed for since the conflict started.<\/p>\n \u201cThey kept you very safe, but you know whenever you\u2019re in a country going through that, a lot of things go through your mind,” Greene said. “It might be a little unrealistic, but the worst-case scenario kind of creeps in.”<\/p>\n Greene, like thousands of other Americans,\u00a0was\u00a0stuck in the Middle East looking for a way back home after traveling to Dubai for a work conference.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cI got there at the worse possible moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After several canceled flights, Greene finally managed to board a plane back home. He said his goal was to get back to celebrate his son’s first birthday this weekend.<\/p>\n His wife, Olivia, said it was a long wait, but she\u2019s happy to have him home.<\/p>\n \u201cGrateful,” she said. “And I really anticipated this day \u2014 we\u2019re really happy that he\u2019s finally home.”<\/p>\n Greene said it was a constant battle to get back home, and that the experience has changed him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a major change of perspective for me after what I went through,” he said. \u201cJust to have my family and friends with me, and my own bed, looking forward to having a night of sleep for one night.”<\/p>\n
\nInitially, he wasn’t able to find a flight home, but finally arrived back to Tampa on Thursday
\nGreene said it was a challenge getting home after flights kept getting canceled
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\nState Department has established a\u00a0crisis intake form<\/a>\u00a0for American citizens who are in the Middle East<\/p>\n