Photo/Morgan Rice

Maj. Olaf Shibusawa runs to embrace his son Quentin in a surprise reunion before last Thursday’s Kettle Run-Fauquier lacrosse game.

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Before Thursday’s boys lacrosse game against Fauquier, Kettle Run sophomore goalie Quentin Shibusawa had no idea what awaited him.John Konoza announced a surprise over the loudspeakers.Shibusawa’s father ran out to hug his 16-year-old son at midfield.Many parents sat in the stands, but the goalie’s dad traveled farther than any of them.U.S. Army Reserves Maj. Olaf Shibusawa landed at Dulles International Airport early Thursday morning after a flight from Afghanistan, ending his third deployment.Maj. Shibusawa spent 2005-06 in Iraq and headed back for “The Surge” in 2007-08. In October, he embarked on another tour, a nine-month stay in Paktya, one of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.He worked with the Provincial Reconstruction Team that was the first in Afghanistan. The job sounded simple: Stabilize the province well enough for the Afghans to be self-supporting.“At first, the teams spent a lot of money doing small projects for the short-term effect,” Maj. Shibusawa said. “In the last couple years, the mission transitioned into getting them ready to do this on their own.“We did our best to help them use the Afghan budget instead of using U.S. funds.”The changes weren’t easy to implement. But, the team quickly made significant progress. In six months, the team’s task ended in Paktya.His unit finished its job three months ahead of schedule.“Centralized government is new to them,” Maj. Shibusawa said. “We helped them learn how to do that.“I had three teams under me, and I was coordinating with them to make sure we were doing the right things. It takes a lot of patience. As Americans, we want to do things as fast and as good as possible, and we had to let them stumble at times and figure things out.”The 46-year-old Arlington native moved his family to Fauquier County in 2004. His wife Julie served in active duty for the National Guard from 1989 to ’96. Fauquier’s small atmosphere drew the couple here.“This whole community has been so supportive through all of his deployments,” Mrs. Shibusawa said. “They’ve been wonderful.”The couple also has a 21-year old daughter, Alison, who serves in the Virginia National Guard. She did a 2010 tour of duty in Iraq.More than 30 family members and friends watched as Quentin ran to embrace his father on the lacrosse field last Thursday.“It was just remarkable,” Mrs. Shibusawa said. “Quentin said it was awesome; he posted it that it was the best day ever on his Facebook.”Julie Shibusawa contacted Kettle Run Coach Scott Begley a couple weeks earlier, when she realized her husband’s arrival would coincide with Thursday’s game.The Cougar athletic department happily made arrangements for the surprise.Coach Begley felt uncomfortable keeping the secret, however.“It’s been rough on me,” he said. “His mom sent me an e-mail about two weeks ago, and I didn’t talk much to him, because I didn’t want to slip.“I’m glad we could do something special for his family. I’m glad we won, but that’s a feel-good thing for Quentin.”The event proved to Maj. Shibusawa that he picked the right home for his family.“It’s a small, hometown feeling,” he said. “I grew up in Arlington, and I would never expect something like this there.“Thankfully, Warrenton is still small enough that it was nice to share this with the community.”After finally seeing his family and friends, Maj. Shibusawa wanted just one more thing – a steak.“At the medium and large-sized bases, they have a surf and turf, and this was the first time I was at a base large enough for it,” he said. “The Army likes to overcook their beef, so I wanted a medium-rare steak.”After Kettle Run’s thrilling 12-11 double overtime win over Fauquier, the Shibusawas headed to the Lone Star Steakhouse in Warrenton to fulfill the soldier’s next wish.Please, send sports news items and/or photos to Sports Editor Mark Trible: