>> with our lead story, the ceremony held overnight to mark the end of the nearly nine-year military campaign in iraq . nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engle is in baghdad for us. good morning.
>> reporter: good morning, ann. with this small ceremony attended by just a few hundred people, the u.s. military command in iraq closed its operations, making this country a sovereign nation . in a brief ceremony on a base on the edge of baghdad , the united states took down the flag of its command here to mark the end of the military mission . with the casing of the colors, the american military command in iraq is officially closed. the iraq war as a war led by the u.s. military is no more. all that's left to do now is withdraw the 4,000 remaining troops in the coming days. defense secretary leon panetta .
>> no words, no ceremony can provide full tribute to the sacrifices that have brought this day to pass.
>> reporter: but as the mission ends, most troops have already made it south to kuwait where they've repacked.
>> go back, spend some time with the family.
>> reporter: and go through preflight inspections. after years of fighting they're not used to carrying just tiny bottles of liquids when they travel.
>> three shots. no pornography.
>> reporter: but mostly the troops wait.
>> the family, they're tired of me being gone all the time. it is going to be nice to be home for a little while.
>> reporter: you hear a lot of that -- excitement for the simplest of things -- family, friends, maybe a few beers.
>> not being in the desert all the time, you know, just being able to spend the weekends at home, you know, i haven't really had a day off since i took leave.
>> reporter: but out processing takes days, sometimes longer. after a war and with family waiting, kuwait can feel like the worst layover ever. staff sergeant michael stevens served four tours in iraq in some of the toughest war zones.
>> going days and praying.
>> reporter: he lost a finger in combat. some of his friends didn't make it.
>> what pushed me and kept me going was knowing i wasn't going to give up. my friends obviously took the ultimate sacrifice and i wasn't going to turn around and say i'm done because they wouldn't have done it.
>> reporter: stevens plans to surprise his four children by being home for christmas after missing so many. and now there's just a 16-hour flight to go on a charter plane from delta. the flight crew tried to lift the troops' spirits as america's biggest military mission since vietnam is ending for the holidays. but now many iraqis worry what will happen next. they fear a return to sectarian violence. matt?
>> richard engel in baghdad for us this morning. richard, thank you very much. republican senator
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45680894/
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